The Ghost In The Mirror
by middlechild3
Summary: They say that love lasts forever...What does forever mean? Does it really mean forever...or does it only mean for life? Like...What happens after your life ends? What if the person you love, who loved you back...was still living? What if they still love you, even though you were gone? What if you still loved them, even though you were gone? What would you be willing to believe in?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everybody! I was bored and had this idea in my head. Don't worry, I won't be forgetting about 'May' any time soon. I'm not quite sure where it came from, but I've never done a story like this before and I wanted to try it! Let me know what you guys think and if I should continue this! I'm pretty much just going to be typing it as things come to mind.**

**IMPORTANT! So, I was grounded, so that's why I haven't been able to update. AND THEN when I tried to update 'May', when I clicked "manage stories", it brought me to an error page! So the next chapter of 'May' is currently in my doc manager, and will be updated as soon as fanfiction fixes whatever problem I'm having with updating.**

**So, I'm not going to make you wait any longer. I give you, "The Ghost In The Mirror". I own no references used.**

No One's POV

Ally Dawson was lost in the book she was currently reading. It wasn't like books she normally read. It was about a young woman who falls in love with a handsome young man-now THAT sounds like something Ally would read-but the problem is, this man died. In the 1940's. He's a ghost, for lack of better words. His soul has wandered the earth for years, and not even he can figure out why. THAT was what made this book unlike something Ally would ever read. Anything about ghosts, or anything supernatural is not something she would often read. However the love that these two people shared, despite the challenges, made the book addicting. They were just about to find out why this man's soul had been wandering the earth so long, when Ally got distracted.

She didn't even have to look up to see his blonde hair. She could see him walking towards her out of the corner of her eye. It was late; Sonic Boom was empty, but Austin had been at the studio all day, and hadn't gotten to see her. In the two years they'd known each other, Austin had never gone a whole entire day without seeing Ally. The mere thought of it was now strange.

Ally put a bookmark in her book, shut it, then put it on a shelf underneath the counter. She looks up and sees his smiling face as he walks in through the glass double doors of the music store.

"Hey, Ally." Austin greets.

"Hi." Ally says, "How were things at the studio today?"

"Great! We even talked about the possibility of another album this year!" Austin exclaims.

"Austin! That's amazing!" Ally says. She runs around the counter and jumps into her blonde friend's arms. He picks up the petite brunette and spins her around the room, her laughter echoing throughout the customer-less store.

Austin sets the girl down. Even in heals, she was a good head shorter than he was. He _was _very tall for his age. He was about 6'1" at the moment, and was still growing. He was also built and toned, and often had an ego about it. Though, despite his ego, he really was a sweetheart, especially when it came to Ally. She always over looked his ego, and looked straight into his big heart. She knew he had an amazing heart and kind spirit, and he wasn't afraid to show it. Normally, girls fell for the bad boy, and at times, Austin could very well be that. But when it came to people, he cared about, _really _cared about, the 'bad boy' would be the last thing you could label him.

"I'm so proud of you." Ally says. It was true. Austin had come a long way since she'd yelled at him two years ago for playing the store drums with corn dogs. Not only had he come far with his music, but he'd matured and grown; they both had.

"Of _me_? Look how far _you've _come with music." Austin says. This was true as well. Ally had overcome her stage fright long ago with the help of Austin-however despite an amazing night that was, because of the um...kiss, that was exchanged between the couple, they rarely spoke of it-and had gotten a record deal of her own at Ramone Records, also with the help of Austin.

Sonic Boom still had it's Christmas decorations up. New Year's Eve was tomorrow-and of course, Ally had to work-and they would probably take down the decorations after the New Year began, as everyone else would. That would most likely be a project that she would have to ask Austin to help her with, which Ally knew he would be glad to do.

"Yes, I suppose I have come pretty far." Ally says.

"You have! You have, and you're amazing." Austin says.

Ally smiles, "Well, thank you." she says. She turns to put some things up before she locks up the store. Austin slowly trails along behind her, watching his beautiful friend as she worked, "I'm gonna close up shop. Wanna just hang out in the practice room?" Ally asks.

"Yeah, sure." Austin says. He follows Ally over to the glass double doors. He closes one and she gets the other. She removes her keys from her back pocket in her jeans and locks the doors shut.

"There." Ally says. Randomly, she looks up, and sees the small, fake green plant above their heads, "Oh." she says, barely loud enough for even herself to be able to hear it.

Apparently, Austin head it too, as he looks up and sees the mistletoe above their heads. Austin and Ally had been caught under the mistletoe a total of three times now, and none of those three times did they actually kiss. They were interrupted many times, let's just say that. Ally twiddled with the bracelet on her wrist that Austin gave her for Christmas, their third time under the mistletoe.

"Oh." Austin repeats, now knowing why Ally had said it.

Ally just nods, looking down so that Austin couldn't see how red her face was turning. Austin rolls his eyes and chuckles at her. For a moment, however, Austin just...looks at her, studies the girl in front of him. She used to have amber highlights along with her dark brown hair, but it now seems as if it all morphed into one color, as it wasn't as dark a brown as it was, but not nearly as bright as her highlights were. It sat on perfect curls on her shoulders. She was in a simple yellow blouse, that made her tan, Miami skin look even tanner. She had white skinny jeans on that hugged her legs and behind, and yellow pumps that matched the shirt. And around her wrist, was the bracelet he'd given her for Christmas.

Austin wasn't sure why he felt the need to study her like this, but he felt like he just had to...He had to see her.

Remembering that they were under the mistletoe, Austin comes back to earth from the little world he was previously in. Again, he wasn't sure _why _he felt the need to do this. It was almost as if he _had _to. He reached down and grabbed both of Ally's hands, which got her attention and made her look up. Before she could even react to what was going on, Austin leaned in and down, and pressed his lips to hers. Now, mind you, up until now Ally had only been kissed a total of three times-all with _him_. That night at the Jungle Cafe; the night she overcame her stage fright, once when she and Austin started dating, and that one time-where they TOTALLY made out-for the 'rockumentary' about Team Austin.

This all took Ally completely by surprise, but she intertwined her fingers with his, fluttered her eyes shut, and began to kiss him back. Of course, this couldn't have meant anything. It was merely a festive kiss under the mistletoe. However, the kiss for the 'rockumentary' wasn't supposed to mean anything either, but it absolutely sprung up her feelings for him again. Up until then, her feelings for him had _actually _gone away. But it seemed as if every time they kissed-even though this was only the fourth time she'd been kissed, period-her feelings for him seemed to come around again.

They came apart almost all too soon, but their lips parted, their eyes opened, and their fingers un-twined-if that's even a word.

It was silent for a moment. Austin then cleared his throat and spoke up, "So, um...practice room?" he asks.

Ally snaps out of her dream world as well and comes back to reality, "Um...yeah, I'll...I-I'll be up in a sec."

Austin smiles and nods, then makes his way upstairs to the practice room as if nothing happened.

Ally leaned back against the wall and shut her eyes. She took a deep breath, attempting to calm her heart beat. After a couple seconds, she opens her eyes again, grabs her book from before, and heads back up into the practice room.

Austin looks in the mirror to make sure that none of Ally's lip stick had smeared on his face. Thankfully, none did. He sits down at the piano, and pulls out his song book, since writing a song is most likely what he and Ally would do. He remembered when Ally gave him this book, and when he wrote 'Steal Your Heart'.

Ally walks into the practice room, already nose deep in some book.

"Ally?" Austin asks. Ally doesn't respond right away, "Ally?" he asks again.

Ally snaps out of the world of her book, then bookmarks it and closes it, "Sorry." she says, sitting down on the piano bench next to him.

Austin picks up the book and looks at the summary on the back, "I thought you hated any book that had to do with ghosts or things that don't exist."

"I know, but this is so good. It's a haunting love story about a woman who falls in love with a ghost and-"

"Yawn, I'm already bored." Austin says.

"Think what you want, but the story is amazing."

"And totally unrealistic."

"You think? I'd think that you of all people would _believe _in ghosts." Ally says.

"Of course I believe in _ghosts._ I was talking about all of that lovey-dovey crap that you read in those stories. True love like that, it doesn't exist."

"Why not?"

"Don't get me wrong, I believe in love. I just don't believe in that kind of love in the books. A love so impossibly strong, but still all cute and fluffy and blah. It just doesn't happen." Austin says.

"Well, I think it could. If you met the right person. However, unlike you, I don't believe in ghosts."

"Why would you?" Austin asks, sarcastically.

Ally laughs, "Alright, enough about things that don't exist. Let's start a song."

* * *

_BANG!_

_The sound rang in her ears for longer than she would have liked. He let out a yell. A yell of pain, unlike any noise she'd ever heard from him. His knees bent away beneath him. He lands on his knees first, but then falls forward again and is barely able to catch himself with his hands, then he lays on the ground, a pool of blood already beginning to form from his leg._

_"Austin!" Ally exclaims. She kneels down next to him, tears running down her face._

_"NEITHER OF YOU MOVE!" The man with the gun exclaims, pointing the gun at them._

_"Ally," Austin says, attempting to prop himself up on his elbows, "Ally, listen to me." he says._

_Ally looks at him intently, blinking to try and clear her vision that was previously blurred by tears._

_"Ally," Austin says, almost at a whisper. The man still had his gun pointed at them, but he was heading to the cash register, "I love you." Austin confesses to her, "I love you so, so much."_

_Ally chokes a sob and takes his hands in hers, "I-I l-love you t-too." she says._

_"Listen...you and I...we're gonna walk away from this together, okay? A-and we can be together." Austin says, "But right now, I need you to run. Run as fast as you can and-"_

_"No. No, Austin, I'm not leaving without you."_

_"Ally, just go, run now. I'll be okay."_

_"No, Austin-"_

_"Ally, run."_

_"Austin-"_

_"GOD DAMMIT ALLY RUN! RUN! NOW!" Austin roars._

_Ally leaps up and runs out the back door._

_"YOU BASTARD!" The man with the gun exclaims to Austin._

_For some reason, Ally was able to run as far as she did, but she wasn't able to run any further. She took a breath, then peeked back inside the doorway to see what was happening to Austin._

_The intruder yanked Austin up by his hair. Austin couldn't stand on the leg that was shot, but that didn't matter since he was practically floating with how the other guy was holding him by his hair._

_"I hope you know...that that bitch is NOT getting away." the intruder says._

_Austin then sees Ally looking in at him. He now had tears running down his face as well._

_He mouths to her one last time, 'I love you'. Then, another tear runs down his face and he mouths to her, 'run'._

_The intruder continues speaking, pulling a knife out from somewhere in his pants, "And neither...will...you."_

_Before Austin can even react, the man slides the knife deep in, and across Austin's neck. Austin can't even gasp. His eyes roll back in his head, and the intruder releases him, making him fall to the ground._

_THAT is when Ally starts running._

* * *

"NO! AH! NO!" Ally exclaims, scrambling to her feet from the couch that she and Austin had fallen asleep on. She continued to scream and cry as Austin leaped to his feet as well.

"Ally, what the hell?!" he asks, worriedly.

"I had a dream, and you...a-and blood-"

"Hey, hey, hey..." Austin says, wrapping his arms around her. Ally lays her head on his chest and continues crying, "It's okay...I'm here, it's okay..."

Ally swallows, "God, I've never had a dream like that before." she says.

Austin looks at the time on the clock on the wall. It was 2 am. Both Austin's and Ally's parents were out of town on business, so they didn't have to worry about getting in trouble with them.

Austin then bends down and grabs Ally like he's about to lift her up bridal style, but he ends up sitting on the couch with her on his lap bridal style. She wraps her arms around his neck and nuzzles her head into the crook of his neck. Austin held her in his arms...the silence in the room was deafening.

Except for his heart beat. Austin's heart beat rang in Ally's ears. It let her know that he was here. Breathing. Alive. With her.

But...For how much longer? Dreams like that don't just happen...

Do they?

**Bam! So that was my first chapter of this story. But don't worry, it's going to get a lot more intense in the next couple of chapters. I've never written a story like this though, so you'll have to bear with me.**

**I WILL UPDATE 'May' AS SOON AS I CAN BUT FOR SOME REASON THE WEBSITE WON'T LET ME! BUT I PROMISE I WILL!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everybody! I was able to update 'May' finally! Woo! Hopefully I'll be able to update these stories more often. I'm writing this whilst still in Indiana! I was supposed to fly home on Monday, but the snow is so terrible that I couldn't. Hopefully, I'll be back in California by Wednesday. Wish me luck! It's so cold here, if you throw a boiling pot of water outside, it will turn into steam before it can even land! And if you crack an egg on the side walk, it will freeze almost instantly. I know all of this because I actually tried it. :)**

**Okay, okay. I own no references used. Let's go. **

**Warning: This chapter is going to be intense.**

* * *

The Next Day

As soon as Austin walked into Sonic Boom, a random person strapped a party hat on his head and sent him off. He then turned to Ally, who was behind the counter, with an odd expression on his face as he approached her.

"I never thought I'd ever say this, but great party Ally!" Austin exclaims.

"I know." Ally says, proudly. Ally's father had allowed her to throw a New Year's Eve party at Sonic Boom as long as no one broke anything, she cleaned up afterwords, and of course, there was no alcohol. So, with the help of Trish, Ally managed to throw a pretty great party. Everyone from the mall was there, and lots of people from school came too. Trish invited everyone and Ally actually did a majority of the decorating. There was also lots of food and beverages too. The 'no food in the store' rule would just have to slide for now.

Ally was certainly dressed for the occasion. She had a very sparkly hat that read 'Happy 2014!' that lit up, on her head, a bright blue sequin shirt, black skinny jeans, and silver platforms. Her hair was in a cute little pony tail in the back of her head, and of course, she wore her bracelet that Austin gave her for Christmas. Austin was in a simple red T-shirt and jeans-because you can do that in Miami in January-and as previously mentioned, someone had also put a party hat on his head.

"Sorry I couldn't help you set the place up, but it looks like you did a pretty good job." Austin says.

"It's fine. Trish helped me out. What about Dez? Have you seen him?" Ally asks.

"We _were _together, but he was on a skateboard, and long story short I now have no idea where he is."

Austin and Ally just stare at each other.

"3...2...1..." they say in unison.

"LOOK OUT!" Dez says, rolling into Sonic Boom on the skateboard, crashing into the counter, then falling to the ground. Dez then leaps up and puts his hands in the air, "I'm okay!" he exclaims. He then turns to Ally, "Wow, great party, Alls." he says.

"Thank you." Ally says proudly.

"I helped her out." Trish says, appearing beside Ally.

"Yeah, I can tell. The decorations are a little loud." Dez says.

"The _decorations _are loud?" Trish asks, referring to Dez's very yellow attire.

"Anyways. So, ladies, who're ya smoochin' at midnight?" Dez asks, jokingly.

"That is so not my main focus right now. Right now, I just wanna enjoy my party." Ally says, exiting herself from the scene. She walks over to grab some punch, when a tall figure appears next to her.

"Hey," Austin says, "have you been okay today? You really freaked me out last night." Austin says, referring to the nightmare Ally had had.

"Yes, I'm fine, don't worry. I'm really not sure what came over me last night."

"I'm just glad you're alright." Austin says.

Ally nods and takes a sip of her punch.

Suddenly, on the store monitor where they had on the New Years Count Down in New York, they start the count down to midnight, and the new year.

"10!...9!...8!" Everyone in the store chanted, their smiles getting bigger as the numbers decreased.

"3!...2!...1! Happy New Year!" Everyone exclaimed. People all around turned to people of the opposite gender next to them and kissed them. Ally smiled at the words 'Happy New Year' on the television screen.

"Happy New Year, Ally." Austin says.

Ally looks over at him and smiles, "Happy New Year, Austin." she says.

They sort of awkwardly stare at each other for a moment, then, once again without entirely thinking, Austin presses his lips to hers. Ally followed suit to his actions. Was it really so bad? It was just a festive kiss on New Years. It didn't mean anything, just as the kiss last night under the mistletoe didn't mean anything. Knowing their lives, they would probably share a couple more meaningless kisses in their lives, whether it be a silly game of truth or dare, or a Team Austin 'Rockumentary' part two. It would just be a part of their lives, but there would never be any meaning...right?

They come apart as everyone else does, and awkwardly stand there. Ally then takes another sip of her punch and Austin rocks back and fourth on his heels.

Ally then walks over to where Trish is, just to get away from the awkward tension.

"So, I see you locked lips with Austin." Trish says to Ally.

Well, that was a success.

"Yeah, so what?" Ally asks.

" 'So what'? What do you mean 'so what'? You and Austin ki-" but Trish gets cut off by Ally putting her hand over her mouth. Ally uncovers Trish's mouth and continues.

"Yes, I know, but it was nothing. It was a meaningless kiss for New Years." she says.

"Mmm hmm. You can keep telling yourself that, but we all know that you and Austin are meant for each other."

"Yeah, okay." Ally says, sarcastically.

"Ally, come on. You know how much Austin loves you."

"Yeah, as a friend." Ally says.

"You really don't get it, do you? Austin would do anything for you."

"Please, Trish, I can think of a _list _of things that Austin would not do for me." Ally says.

* * *

"Hey, can you get those cups on the piano?" Ally asks.

"Yeah." Austin says.

Austin and Ally were the last ones in Sonic Boom. It was about 2 am. Everyone else had gone home, including Trish and Dez, who's parents wanted them back home. Since Austin and Ally's parents were out of town, they didn't have to worry about that. So they were currently walking around Sonic Boom with trash bags, picking up the store.

Ally looks up and around the store, "I think that's it. Let's go check the practice room." she says.

Austin follows her up the many stairs to the practice room, and when they get up there it isn't too bad. Just a couple of cups and wrappers here and there. The two start picking them up.

"You know, I had a really fun time tonight." Austin comments.

"I did too. I'm also pretty proud of myself for throwing such an awesome party." Ally says.

"I'm impressed too. I didn't know you had it in you." Austin says.

Ally is about to comment, when she hears the door open downstairs.

"Who could that be?" Austin asks.

"Someone probably forgot something." Ally says. She walks out of the practice room and Austin follows her.

"Hello?" Austin calls as they walk down the stairs to the main part of the store.

They walk around by the counter and look all around the store, but they didn't see anyone.

"Hello?" Ally calls.

Suddenly, they hear a click behind them. It almost sounded like...the click of a gun being taken off safety.

Austin and Ally slowly turn around to face the intruder. He was a large man, dressed all in black, and he had a gun.

"Gimmie your cell phones." he says, "GIMMIE YOUR CELL PHONES!"

Austin slowly reaches into his pocket and hands the man, who had a gun pointed at him, his cell phone.

"Now you." the man says to Ally, pointing his gun at her.

"I don't have mine." Ally says, "I swear. You can check me if you want." she says, calmly.

The man keeps his gun aimed at her, but walks around her, circling her, looking for a bulge in any of her pockets. He doesn't find one.

"Alright." The man says, believing Ally, "Now, both of you, move away from the register, and put your hands where I can see them."

Austin and Ally do as told by taking a step backward and putting their hands in the air. The burglar, keeping his gun aimed at them, goes over to the cash register. Since she and Austin had been picking up trash from the party, Ally didn't think to set the alarm. So when the man opened the cash register with ease, nothing happened.

The man kept his gun aimed at Austin and Ally as he dug through the cash register and put the money in a bag he had.

Austin glanced at Ally one last time. She looked terribly frightened. He knew he had to do this for her so that she could get away. Austin ran up to the intruder and tackled him to the ground. Ally screamed and leaped back, thinking that Austin was insane for doing this. The intruder and Austin stand and start punching and kicking each other.

Then, suddenly, as if all hell hadn't already broke loose...

BANG!

The sound rang in Ally's ears longer than she would have preferred. Austin let out a yell. A yell of pain, unlike any noise she'd ever heard from him. His knees bent away beneath him. He lands on his knees first, but then falls forward again and is barely able to catch himself with his hands. Then he lays on the ground, a pool of blood already beginning to form from his leg where he was shot.

"Austin!" Ally exclaims. Ally knelt down next to Austin, tears running down her face.

"NEITHER OF YOU MOVE!" The man with the gun exclaims, pointing the gun at them.

"Ally." Austin says, attempting to prop himself up on his elbows. He winced, as he was in a great deal of pain right now, and looks up at Ally, "Ally, listen to me." he says.

Austin knew he was a goner. There was just no way that he would be able to make it out of this situation alive. The man had a gun for God's sake! And he most likely wasn't going to want any witnesses to his crime. The gun he had was intended to be used. However, Austin knew that, if she was careful, Ally could escape from this. She could run, but she would have to leave him.

Ally looked at him intently, blinking to try and clear her vision that was previously blurred by tears.

And, Austin said the one thing he knew he could say, and she would listen to him, no matter what he did, "I love you." he confessed to her, "I love you so, so much." he says, praying she would listen to him.

Ally chokes a sob and takes his hand in hers, "I-I l-love you t-too." she says.

"Listen...you and I...we're gonna walk away from this together, okay? A-and we can be together." Austin says, lying through his teeth, "But right now, I need you to run. Run as fast as you can and-"

"No. No, Austin, I'm not leaving without you." Ally says, the sight of Austin's blood making her dizzy.

"Ally, just go,run now. I'll be okay." Austin says, knowing that his words weren't trye.

"No, Austin-"

"Ally, run."

"Austin-"

"GOD DAMMIT ALLY RUN! RUN! NOW!" Austin roars.

Ally leaps up and runs out the back door. Austin knew he'd scared her, but whatever it took to get her out of here.

"YOU BASTARD!" The man with the gun exclaims to Austin.

For some reason, Ally was able to run as far as she did, but she wasn't able to run any further, not without Austin. She took a breath, then peeked back inside the doorway to see what was happening to Austin. Maybe she could help him get away. Ally held her breath, hoping the intruder wouldn't see her looking in on the situation.

The intruder yanks Austin up by his hair. Austin is unable to stand on the leg that has been shot, but that doesn't seem to be a problem considering he was practically floating with the way the intruder was holding him. Ally was trying not to scream.

"I hope you know...that that bitch is NOT getting away." The intruder says, referring to Ally, to Austin, however Ally was able to hear it too.

Austin looks over and sees Ally looking in on them. He now had tears running down his face as well. He was scared. He knew was lay ahead...

And he was scared.

Austin mouths to Ally one last time, 'I love you'. Then, another tear runs down his face and he mouths to her, 'run'.

The intruder continues speaking, pulling a knife out from somewhere in his pants, "And neither...will...you."

Before Austin can even react, the man slides the knife deep in, and across Austin's neck. Austin can't even gasp. His eyes roll back in his head, his body goes limp, and the intruder releases him, his close-to-lifeless-body flopping to the ground. Austin couldn't even _try _to catch himself.

_That _is when Ally started running.

She kicked off her shoes since she was in heels and she ran as fast as her feet could carry her. She grabbed her phone-it was in her bra the entire time-and dials 911.

**911 dispatcher**/_Ally_

**911, what is your emergency?**

_Please help me! My store was robbed and my friend was hurt._

**Ma'am, what is your store and who is your friend? What is your name?**

_My name is Ally Dawson. My store is Sonic Boom and it's in Mall of Miami in Miami, Florida. My friend was Austin Moon. Please help! He's still there! He could be dying please!_

**Ma'am, I'm sorry, I can't understand you.**

_THAT'S BECAUSE I'M RUNNING! PLEASE JUST GET TO SONIC BOOM._

**Can you tell me what you're wearing so that our officers can find you?**

_I have brown hair and I'm in a blue shirt._

And with that, Ally hangs up her phone and drops it. It lands on the concrete and most likely broke but she didn't care; she just continued to run. Her feet hurt since she wasn't wearing any shoes, but she didn't care. Her lungs burned, but she didn't care.

Finally, she saw the red and blue lights flashing in the distance, which only made her want to run _towards them._ And so she did. The first couple of police cars whiz passed her, but the third one pulls over to the side of the road. The police man gets out of the car. Ally was so out of breath, and her feet hurt beyond belief. She fell to her knees on the side of the road.

The police man ran over to Ally and helped her stand, "Ally Dawson?" he asked.

Ally nods, trying not to dry heave, "Please...*cough* please help me."

"I'm gonna take you to the hospital."

"No you...You have to...Have to help Austin..." she says.

"The police and an ambulance is on their way to Sonic Boom. We've also notified yours and Austin's parents. I promise, everything will be alright."

Ally doesn't respond right away.

"I'm Officer Clark. I'll be helping you throughout all of this." Officer Clark says, "Let's get you to the hospital."

He gets Ally into the car. Ally looked down at her feet. They were pretty cut up and dirty. She could barely walk on them, they hurt so bad. At least now she'd caught her breath. She could have fallen asleep she was so exhausted, but she couldn't. All she could worry about was Austin.

She watched that man _slit _Austin's throat...What if...What if...

Suddenly, Officer Clark's walkie-talkie started buzzing. She couldn't understand the person on the other line, but apparently Officer Clark was able to.

"They've found your friend." he says.

Ally's energy suddenly boosts up, "And?! Is he okay?!" she asks.

Officer Clark doesn't answer right away, "We're here." he finally says.

Ally is confused, but then she looks out the window and sees that they've arrived at the hospital.

**And that's it for chapter two! What do you guys think of it? What's gonna happen to Austin? Let me know in your reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everybody! I left you all at quite the cliff hanger last chapter, didn't I? Is Austin alive, or can we expect the worst? What's gonna happen to Ally? And what about the guy that robbed Sonic Boom? What's gonna happen to him? The police said that they found Austin, so what's gonna happen there? Lucky for you all, all of those unanswered questions will be answered in this chapter.**

**Just remember, this story is called 'The GHOST In The Mirror' for a reason!**

**I own no references used. Let's go!**

Ally sat up in her bed. The light that shone through the small window in her room told her that it was day. Ally looked down at the gown she was wearing. White. Every single day she had to wear the same white clothes. At least in hospitals, the gowns had those cute little blue dots on them. Here, there was just white. And not just white clothing. White walls, white floors, white furniture, everything was white. That's why Ally liked to walk around in the garden so much. There was color there.

She looked over and saw Austin, sitting in the chair in the corner like he always did when she woke, "Morning." she says to him.

"Hey." he says, smiling. He stands and walks over to the bed that Ally was sitting on and sits next to her. Austin was always wearing a different outfit when he came to see her. She liked it. Color.

Austin leans in and presses an innocent, chaste kiss on Ally's lips. She smiled up at him when they came apart. He, however, was frowning, "I can't believe they've got you all cooped up in here. It just isn't right." he says.

"I know. It's strange being in here, knowing that nothing is wrong with me, but these walls are practically sound proof, and we can just be...alone."

"I know that, but they think you're hopeless. I knew coming to visit you wasn't a good idea from the start." he says.

Ally pauses, "Do...Do you regret coming to see me?" she asks.

Austin sighs, "Yes, but not for the reason you think." he says, "You were supposed to move on. To get married and have kids, but instead you're here." he says.

"Austin," Ally says, holding up her left hand, "Look at this, look at the ring you gave me." she says.

"I still can't believe they let you keep that." Austin says.

"I wear this ring day and night to show how much I love you. I like it here...A bit of color wouldn't kill anyone, but I still like it. I like this, us. Please, don't regret anything." she pleads.

* * *

Months Earlier

Ally sat up on the hospital bed, still in her New Years get up, while a nurse wiped off her dirty and cut up feet. There was no serious damage to her feet, they just hurt. But the hot water felt nice on them.

"Well, even though the damage isn't too serious, you still shouldn't walk until tomorrow. We're going to keep you here over night. The police are also going to have lots of questions to ask you."

"Is my dad on his way?" Ally asks.

"He should be here any minute." The nurse says.

As if on cue, Lester Dawson bursts through the room with tears in his eyes. He looks over at Ally and sighs in relief, "Oh my God." he says, rushing over to her.

Ally holds out her arms and her father runs into them. Lester hugs his daughter tighter than he ever has before, both of them crying, "Oh, honey, I was so worried. I thought something terrible had happened." he says.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." Ally assures him.

"The police said they caught the man who did this. He was just outside the mall."

"Oh, that's great." Ally says, "Have you heard about Austin? Is he okay? No one will tell me." Ally says.

Lester pauses, then sighs, "Ally..." he starts.

Suddenly, a wail comes from the hallway that makes Ally jump. She leans over and looks out the open doorway, to see Mimi Moon, crying into her husband Mike's arms. The gray haired man strokes his wife's blonde curls, tears streaming down his face as well.

"No! He can't be gone! My baby can't be gone!" Mimi cries.

Ally's eyes widen and she looks at her father, "No..." she says, silently begging for her father to tell her that she was wrong. Her eyes welled up in tears once again.

"Honey..." Lester starts, "I'm so sorry...But Austin is gone. The police say he was dead before you even called."

In that case...Ally _watched _him die. The realization made her want to vomit.

"No...No. No! NO! No no no no..." she buries her face into the thin pillow on the bed and continues screaming 'No', but her cries were muffled by the pillow.

The sound of a knock on the empty door is what makes Ally look up from her now damp pillow. Her vision was blurry with tears, but she was able to figure out that the figure standing in the doorway was Mimi Moon, Austin's mother. Ally's heart ached for the poor woman. She'd just found out that her son was dead, yet here she was, wanting to comfort Ally. Mascara stained tears ran down her face, and she was still dressed up as if she'd been at a New Years Eve party, which she very well could have been.

Mimi sits on the edge of the bed next to Ally. There's a pause, and for a moment, they just stare at each other...

"Ally?" Mimi finally asks, not even having to say anything more in order for Ally to know what she was asking.

Ally begins sobbing uncontrollably, "I-I I w-was there. I-I w-watched it happen." she sobs.

"Oh, sweetheart." Mimi says, embracing the poor girl.

"I-I I sh-should have h-helped him."

"Sweetheart, there isn't anything you could have done." Mimi says through tears.

"H-he he s-saved my life, Mimi. A-and he told me h-he l-loved me, and that we were gonna b-be together."

Mimi and Lester both attempt to sooth the crying girl, both crying as well. Mike came in a few minutes later and joined in, though no one was really helping anybody. Just a few hours ago, Austin and Ally were talking, laughing, kissing for the new year, and now he was just...gone.

Ally saw someone walk in out of the corner of her eye. She thought it was another doctor, so she straightened up best she could. However, when she looked towards the doorway, no one was there.

"What is it, honey?" Lester asks.

"Nothing. I could have swore I saw someone walk in. Whatever, it was nothing." Ally says.

Mike and Mimi went home after visiting hours were over...though without their son there now...there almost wasn't a home to go to...Lester also had to leave when visiting hours ended, leaving Ally alone to sob. She couldn't imagine a life without Austin in it. Austin had become her whole world when he walked in those doors of Sonic Boom that day. How was she supposed to live now that his time here was over? Especially since his life was taken away from him in such a brutal manner. No one deserves to die like that.

Ally silently sobbed and spoke at a whisper level, "Please God please, please bring him back to me..." was all she could get out before her sobs became to much for her to form words.

* * *

"This just in, Austin Moon, over night internet sensation and international pop star, was pronounced dead at Miami Hospital earlier this morning-" Ally shut off the TV before she could hear anymore. She got off her bed and walked into the bathroom. She looked like an absolute mess, and seeing reports about Austin's death all over the news didn't help her much. She put her hair up in a pony tail and had to wear the same outfit she'd worn the night before. The police brought her shoes back to her, as she'd kicked them off at Sonic Boom, which she was grateful for. Her dad brought her flats to wear for now though. Will all of the cuts on her feet, she wouldn't be wearing heels for a while.

Ally turned on the water in the sink, bent down, and splashed some water in her face. She slept last night, but she didn't sleep much and she needed to wake up. She turned the water off and opened her eyes. Her face was still covered with water though. She was about to stand to grab a towel...but she could have sworn she saw someone behind her in the mirror out of the corner of her eye. Ally dabbed her face with a towel, and when she turned back around, no one was behind her. That's weird. That's the second time she thought she'd seen someone that turned out to be no one.

Ally walked out into her room. She was waiting for her dad to show up and take her home. Right now, she just wanted to lock herself up in her room and cry some more. Her best friend and what could have been a potential love interest was dead. What more was there to do than cry?

Suddenly the door opened. In stepped a short black haired Latina girl and a tall, firey red-headed boy. Both with tears running down their faces.

Trish and Dez.

Ally sniffs, tears coming to her eyes again, "Do you know?" is all she asks.

Trish and Dez only nod. Ally sighs, then walks up to them with open arms. They all just...stand there for a while. And hug...And cry.

* * *

Aside from Mike and Mimi, Ally was the first one at the funeral home, a week later. The news of Austin's death had gotten out to the world. All of his fans new. The night after it was announced on the news for the first time, people gathered around and stood outside of Mike and Mimi's house with candles, singing some of Austin's songs. Mike and Mimi had said it was one of the sweetest things his fans ever could have done to remember him.

Sonic Boom had been closed ever since the incident, however it would be re-opening in three days.

Ally didn't want to wear something black. Austin would think it was too depressing. So she wore a simple, long sleeved navy blue dress that was fitting until it got to her hips, then it flowed down to her knees. It wasn't black, but it was still appropriate for a funeral. Trish and Dez on the other hand, wore attire that you would normally see one wear at a funeral. Trish was wearing a black knee-length skirt, a black and white zebra-striped shirt, and a black blazer over it. Even Dez toned down his usual wacky attire and wore a simple suit and tie for the occasion. He did, however, wear an orange tie, and orange was Austin's favorite color. And Trish always made Austin smile when she wore animal print. He always laughed when she wore zebra print, as he was still under the impression that zebras were a myth, so she wore it today, knowing he would smile.

Ally made sure she'd applied water proof makeup that day, as she knew she would be crying herself dry. Lots of people showed up for the ceremony. Friends, family members, however if they didn't have any acquaintance to Austin or The Moon Family, they were most likely a fan of Austin's, trying to get in, and they would kindly be sent away.

Ally finished adjusting the strap on her shoe, then looked up to see Dez walking toward her. She straightened up and gave him a sad smile, "Hey, Dez." she says.

"Hi, Ally." Dez says, "How's it going?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm a mess." Ally says, "What about you?"

Dez pauses, "Ally, Austin was my best friend. There wasn't _anything _we didn't tell each other, _anything._ I know how much he cared about you...I also know how much he'd want you to have this." Dez says. He holds out a book to Ally.

But this wasn't just any book.

It was Austin's song book.

"He didn't just use it for songs. He used it like you use yours. For songs, or just writing something random about the day...He wrote about you a lot...He'd want you to have it."

Ally got tears in her eyes as Dez gave her the book. Almost as soon as her hands touched the book, she could hear Austin's voice in her head, mocking her by saying _'Don't touch my book!'_ Ally was almost able to smile at the thought.

"Thank you, Dez."

* * *

Ally looked down at Austin, laying in the casket. She had to admit, they'd done a good job with the makeup. You almost couldn't tell that there was a large scar on his neck where his throat was slit...He was in a suit, and his hands rested on his lower chest. Lots of things were in the casket with him, meant to be buried with him as well. Lots of his necklaces that he considered lucky, pictures, and other small things. Ally was tempted to put the song book in the casket as well, and let it be buried with Austin. But again, Ally could hear Austin's voice in her head saying _'Don't. Keep it. I want you_ to.'

When the ceremony started, everyone was seated and lots of speeches were made, starting with Austin's parents. Ally would go last, but there was a reason for this. Her heart beat erratically as she glanced at the piano in the corner of the room. She hadn't felt this nervous since she and Austin performed at the Jungle Cafe for her mother's book signing party.

_'It's part cafe, part jungle!' _Austin's voice said in her head.

Ally had looked over a couple of the pages in Austin's book. She was almost tempted to change what she originally had in mind for today...

She had found a page filled with music notes, but no lyrics. It was a piano piece. The work was...amazing.

_'Yeah! Play that one!' _Austin's voice cheered in Ally's head. Ally wasn't sure why she kept hearing his voice, but she wasn't complaining either.

Trish and Dez each made speeches as well. Trish talked about how when she first met Austin, she didn't really like him. In fact-although she had been a fan of his music-he was pretty annoying. But he'd grown to become her friend, and an amazing one at that. Trish didn't cry often, but she had been for the passed week, and was during her speech. But it was great. She walked away from the podium and sat back down next to Ally, who lay a hand on her knee.

Dez was next. He had lots to tell. He talked about the great memories that he and Austin had together as kids-and even some embarrassing ones! Some of the people listening to him even laughed a bit. Leave it to Dez to try and lighten the mood in a situation like this. Ally smiled at him. He and Austin really were great together. It was going to be weird seeing Dez walk around, not following Austin wherever he went like he was Austin's dog. It was going to be weird seeing Dez come up with some silly shenanigan or food concoction without Austin happily agreeing to it, no matter what it was...

Finally, it was Ally's turn. She stood up as Dez went back to his seat. Ally was almost shaking as she carried Austin's songbook up with her. She stood at the podium, and began to speak, "As some of you may know, I started out as Austin's partner and songwriter. Austin could sing his heart out wherever, whenever, for anyone. Anytime, anywhere, and he'd have the time of his life. But he could never find the words to sing...But eventually, he did, and he wrote them in this book, which was given to me, courtesy of Dez." Ally says, "Even when Austin didn't necessarily _need _me to find words for him to sing anymore, he still would always ask me when _our _next songwriting session was. Whether it was writing songs for him, or even for me once I got the courage to perform...Before Austin was able to write songs on his own, I was the one who found the words for him...But today...I can't seem to find the words to say about Austin. I _was _going to perform for you a piece of _my own_, in mine and Austin's other language...music...But...Instead, I'm going to share with you, one of _Austin's _pieces. There are no lyrics to this, however. I'm not sure if that's because it wasn't finished, or because it was intended only as an instrumental piece, but I still think it should be shared with you all, because it really is...beautiful...I hope you all like it, and Austin would too."

Ally takes the book and heads over to the piano. All eyes watch the girl as she approaches the instrument and sits on the bench. She lays her hands on the keys, and begins to play. **(If you want to hear this piano piece, go to youtube-if you have access to it-and search 'Motionless in White city lights piano cover' and click on the first video. It gives me chills every time I listen to it)**

The melody starts of very simple. In fact, only one of Ally's hands is moving at first. Then, her other hand starts moving along the instrument, playing a new melody as her first hand stays in place, repeating the melody that the song started with. The two melodies were now overlapping each other. This didn't sound like anything Austin would write, but maybe that was what was so beautiful about it. This song showed Austin's sensitive side. Maybe he wrote this song on a bad day, because the melody _did _have a bit of a melancholy feel to it. However, there was something else in it too. Something like...hope.

As previously said, the melody was simple, so that was why Ally had almost no trouble with it as she flipped the page in the book to the next, where the song continued. But the fact that this song was so simple, yet so...different, is what made it brilliant. Ally repeated what she assumed to be the chorus, a second time. Her eyes went back and fourth between the notes on the pages in the book, and her own fingers on the piano keys. However, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She continued to play, but looked up.

And saw no one.

That was the third time.

Ally refocused herself on the song she was playing. She played the last part of the song, which was once again the chorus, a bit louder, and added a bit of...emphasis to it, for lack of a better word. She added some lower and higher notes to it, to sound fuller. However, this was not by her doing. It was written in the notes of the song. The ending was supposed to be the most dramatic part of the song. Ally wished she could ask Austin what his inspiration behind this song was...

Ally repeated the last few notes of the song multiple times before playing the very last note, which echoed in the room.

Normally, one would applaud at someone playing a piece like that, however everyone there was in too much shock and awe that _Austin _wrote that, that it was almost as if they couldn't.

Thinking about it gave them chills.

"Thank you, everybody." Ally says. She takes the book, then stands from the piano and walks back over to her spot.

* * *

A week earlier

Austin woke up, laying on the floor of Sonic Boom. The ceiling was the first thing that greeted him. He took in a huge gasp of air, as if his lungs hadn't breathed in years. His eyes darted everywhere, trying to remember what happened to him. He blinked a couple of times, trying to get his vision to focus, then sat up, immediately greeted by a pounding headache.

Austin reached up and grabbed the counter, shakily trying to stand up. He was successful, though the process was very tiring. He then looked at himself. He was now shirtless, and wearing what looked like white sweat pants. Had he changed? And what happened to his shirt? Maybe he got drunk and did something stupid. It sounds like something he would do. But he didn't remember there being any alcohol at the party...

"Ally?" he called. He remembered being with her here. They were picking up trash after the New Years party...and everything after that was a blur.

Suddenly, two people who looked like paramedics burst through the glass doors of Sonic Boom with a stretcher.

"Woah! What's going on?" Austin asks, worriedly.

"There he is!" One of the paramedics exclaims, not even acknowledging Austin being there.

"Hello?" Austin asks, "Is Ally okay?" he asks, frightened that something had happened to her. Then again, the paramedic _did _say 'There _he_ is'. What could have happened.

"Get him on the stretcher." the other paramedic says.

Austin turned around, and watched as the paramedics lifted up what appeared to be a body off of the floor of Sonic Boom, right where Austin had been laying when he woke up. How could he not have noticed it?!

"Who is that?" Austin asks one of the paramedics.

The paramedic just shakes his head, "There isn't anything we can do now." he says, "That cut is too far deep. That knife probably killed him instantly."

"Killed?!" Austin exclaims, "Who was killed?!"

Austin then, bravely, looks at the body on the stretcher. It was a boy, a young boy, around his age. He was definitely dead, that's for sure. His lips had already turned a light shade of blue, and his skin, which probably used to have a Miami tan, was now a pale gray color. There was blood all over his neck and a pretty nasty gash. It made Austin feel nauseous looking at it. There was also a pretty good amount of blood dripping from the kid's mouth, and a bit from his nose.

Austin tried to get a better look. Did he know this person? He looked...familiar. The floppy blonde hair, he was pretty built, and he appeared to be tall.

But that's when Austin noticed it.

The outfit this kid was wearing.

A simple red T-shirt and jeans. That's what _he _had been wearing that night.

"Officer Clark, we have found Mr. Moon...I'm sorry, but there isn't anything we can do." One of the paramedics says into a walkie-talkie, "Let's get this kid cleaned up and into a body bag. We'll also need to contact his parents." he says to the other paramedic. Then, his walkie-talkie buzzes.

"Copy that. I have Miss Dawson with me, and we're on our way to the hospital right now." The person, who Austin assumed to be Officer Clark, said through the walkie-talkie.

Austin couldn't believe this...There was just no way that...So then why were they covering the body on the stretcher with a sheet? Austin put a hand on his own chest, wrist, and neck, looking for a pulse.

Nothing.

He began to panic.

"No. No no no! I can't be dead! I can't be!" he exclaimed.

The paramedics started walking the stretcher out of Sonic Boom, while some police officers came in to take pictures of the crime scene. They even lifted the sheet off of Austin so that they could take pictures of his body.

Pretty soon, the blood on the floor was cleaned up, the paramedics left for the hospital, and the police went back to the station.

Austin was alone.

Austin sat on the steps that normally would head up to the practice room, and he began to sob. He was scared. Beyond scared. He was dead. So now what? What his spirit just supposed to...wander the earth?

He looked down at himself. He was barefoot, and was still in only the white sweat pants.

"A shirt would be nice." He chuckled to himself, trying to lighten his own mood.

Suddenly, a black T-shirt was there. On him. Austin looked down at himself and tugged at the fabric a couple of times, "How did..." he wonders to himself.

"Hi there." A feminine voice suddenly says, nearly scaring Austin shitless.

Austin looked up and saw a brown skinned girl sitting on the counter of Sonic Boom. She was in a black and white stripped tank top, blue jean shorts, and black flip flops. Each individual strand of her hair was in small braids, and the braids are what made up her hair. Then, all of the braids were bound together in a high pony tail on top of the girl's head.

"The name's Malayah." she says.

Austin blinks, "Austin." he says, introducing himself, not really knowing what else to say.

"I know that, silly. I'm here to help you." she says, hopping off the counter and walking towards him.

"Wait," Austin says, standing up, "are you...human?" he asks.

"I _was." _Malayah says, "I'm one of the spirits in charge of helping out newbies." she says.

"Spirits?" Austin asks.

"Spirits, ghosts, wandering souls; whatever toots your horn." she says.

Austin blinks, "Okay..." he says.

"Alright, now let's get to work. You see that light?"

"What light?"

"That one." Malayah says. Suddenly, a bright white light shone down from the ceiling down to the floor of Sonic Boom.

"Yeah, I see it." Austin says, extremely weirded out.

"Since you were a good kid who did good things for people who needed it, you'll get to live the _good _afterlife-"

"Wait, afterlife?!" Austin asks, none of this making any sense to him.

"Yes, afterlife. Now pay attention. That light, is your link to your life outside of earth. You can come and go as you please."

"Really?" Austin asks.

"Mmm hmm. You can come here whenever you like, to check on your family and friends, and what not."

"Check on them? Does that mean I can talk to them?"

"We'll get to that." Malayah says, "Now, say you want to get out of those clothes. Just think or say aloud what kind of clothing you want, and bam! It's there."

Austin nods, "Cool." he says, still not quite sure what was going on.

Malayah sighs, "Austin...You're dead, okay? That body you just saw those paramedics roll out of here was yours. You've gotta understand that I'm just trying to help you know how you're going to go about your life from now on."

Austin pauses, "So...I really am dead then, huh?" he asks.

Malayah nods, "I'm sorry." she says, "Now...simply because it's the balance of nature, living humans cannot see spirits naturally...However...You can pick _one _human, and one human only, to communicate with."

"What?! Seriously?!" Austin asks.

Malayah nods, "Now, some people may claim to see you out of the corner of their eye, or even hear you, but that's natural. If they look directly at you, they won't be able to see you, and if they actually concentrate on your voice, they won't be able to hear you."

Austin nods, then sighs, "But wait...Just one person?"

Malayah nods, "I know it's hard. Trust me, I've been there. But say that that person dies. Then they too are a spirit, and you can communicate with another human. For example, I chose to communicate with my older brother after I died. I could talk to him, listen to him, even touch him, and he could do all the same things to me. After he died, I moved on to an old friend of mine." she says.

Austin shakes his head in disbelief, "God, how am I gonna choose?" he wonders to himself.

"You don't have to right away if you don't want. You can take as much time as you need." Malayah says, "Oh! I forgot to tell you one of the best things about this. We can go anywhere we want to, just by thinking about it."

"Really?"

"Yep, and that includes the afterlife; just think of the light. Now, I'm gonna leave you one your own for now, but if you need me, just think of me and I'll be there. Oh, and if I were you, I'd head to Miami hospital about now."

"What? Why?" Austin asks.

But she was already gone.

"Malayah?" Austin calls.

Nothing.

* * *

Just as Malayah had said, Austin appeared at Miami Hospital. No one could see him, but he could see them...And hear them.

_"Oh! I'm sorry! I always forget about this. We have an enhanced sense of hearing. It's pretty cool, actually."_ Malayah says.

"Where are you? I don't see you." Austin says.

_"That's because I'm not here. You're hearing me in your head. I'm in the afterlife, you are on earth. You'll be able to do this with whatever human you choose to communicate with as well."_

Austin just nods, "Where am I going?" he asks.

_"Well, I'd say steer clear of the morgue, 'cause we already know what's in there," _Malayah says, _"If you hurry to the third floor, you can catch your parents being told your dead."_

"What?!" Austin exclaims. He thinks to himself 'third floor, third floor, third floor'.

And there he was, on the third floor. There stood both of his parents, and a male doctor.

"Where's Austin? Is he okay?" Mimi asks.

The doctor pauses, "Mr. and Mrs. Moon...sit down."

"No, we won't. Where is our son?!" Mike demands.

The doctor takes a breath, "Mr. and Mrs. Moon...I am so, so sorry to tell you this..."

"T-tell us-tell us what?" Mimi stutters.

"Well...The man who robbed Sonic Boom tonight was, as you know, armed. With a gun...and a knife. We are still waiting for the police to talk to our witness, Miss Dawson-"

"Ally's here?!" Mike asks.

"Yes. We are still waiting on the police to talk to her so that we can figure out _how _exactly this happened...but...the man slit your son's throat."

Austin looked at his mother, who looked like she was about to vomit. Tears welled up in his eyes at watching his parents receive the news that he was dead.

"Is...Is he g-going to be alright?" Mimi asks.

The doctor purses his lips, then speaks, "No..." he says, "There was nothing any of us could do. We are all, so sorry."

Mimi looked like she couldn't breathe, and Mike looked angered, "Are you seriously trying to tell us...that our son is..." Mike paused, as if the word in his mouth that he wanted to say tasted like poison, "dead?" he finally asks, as if it were a completely unrealistic possibility. As if the entire idea in itself was ridiculous.

The doctor pauses again, "Yes." he finally says, "I'm so sorry..."

At this rate, both Mike and Mimi were crying, and Mimi let out a loud wail, nearly collapsing into her husband's arms.

"No! He can't be gone! My baby can't be gone!" she exclaims.

For a moment, Austin just watches his parents cry over him. He wanted so badly to hug them, to let them know that he was going to be okay the way he was now. This entire thing was just stressful.

He then heard another shout or cry of some sort from a nearby room. The voice sounded all too familiar.

Mike was mad, furious at the world. He had to step outside before he blew up in front of everyone in the hospital. Mimi, however, stayed behind and went into the room where the other cry came from. Austin followed her in there, to see an all too familiar face sitting on the bed.

Ally.

Mimi walked in and sat down next to Ally on the bed. For a while they just sort of...starred at each other.

"Ally?" Mimi finally asks.

She apparently didn't need to say anything more before Ally burst into tears, "I-I I was there. I-I w-watched it happen." she sobs.

"Oh, sweetheart." Mimi says, embracing the poor girl.

All of the memories started flooding back to Austin as he watched all of this unravel.

"I-I I sh-should have h-helped him."

"Sweetheart, there isn't anything you could have done." Mimi says, through tears.

"H-he he s-saved my life, Mimi. A-and he told me h-he l-loved me and that we were gonna b-be together.

Mimi and Lester both tried to comfort her. Austin began to completely fall apart, seeing Ally, his best friend...and maybe even crush, seen so distraught. He'd only seen her cry once before, before his first tour when they were talking outside his bus, but that didn't even count. She'd only teared up. This was different. He'd never seen this come from Ally before.

Mike came in a few minutes later. They were all attempting to comfort each other, but nothing really worked.

At this point, Austin was only peaking inside the room. He decided to walk all the way in.

Ally's head suddenly snapped up. She wiped her tears and looked in Austin's direction.

"What is it, honey?" Lester asks.

Ally seems confused, "Nothing. I could have swore I saw someone walk in. Whatever, it was nothing." Ally says.

Austin widened his eyes in shock.

Ally had seen him.

It may have only been for a second out of the corner of her eye, but she'd still seen him.

Mike and Mimi had to leave after visiting hours were over, and so did Lester. Ally was left alone. Austin was still there, but she didn't know that, so she _felt _alone. She continued to silently sob, not making an effort to fall asleep.

She silently begged at a whisper level, "Please God please, please bring him back to me..." was all she could get out before her sobs became too much for her to form words.

Austin sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. He didn't want her to feel this way. He wanted her to at least get some sleep. So, he thought about it. He thought about sleep, then lay a hand on Ally's head. She couldn't feel it, but his thoughts of sleep were transferred to her. She got snuggled in under her blanket, and fell asleep, but God only knows for how long.

* * *

Austin watched her as she got ready for the day. However, even though she wouldn't be able to tell if he was looking at her, he turned his attention away from her when she was changing.

She looked tired, as she hadn't gotten much sleep. Austin stood behind her in the bathroom as she washed her face. Austin could see his own reflection in the mirror, and he was still in the black T-shirt and white sweats. He decided to change it up a bit. He decided on a yellow T-shirt, regular blue jeans, and sneackers. Much more 'Austin'. However, as soon as the change happened, Ally's head snapped up. Could...could she see his reflection in the mirror out of the corner of her eye? Ally dabbed her face with a towel, as her face had still been wet, then turned around to face Austin.

She couldn't see him.

She walked out and got ready, when the door opened.

Austin had to walk away when Trish and Dez came in. He knew it'd be too much for him to handle.

* * *

To say that attending his own funeral was strange, would be an understatement. Austin was still trying to determine which one person he would want to communicate with. Austin smiled when he saw Ally, Trish, and Dez. Ally didn't wear black because she knew he'd think it was too depressing. Trish wore zebra print because she knew it would make him smile. And Dez, although in formal attire himself which was very unusual for him, wore an orange tie, as orange was Austin's favorite color.

Austin wasn't sure why, but he put himself in a suit as well. It did, however, freak him out a little bit when he discovered that the suit he was wearing matched the suit that was on his corpse.

Austin watched as Dez gave Ally Austin's song book. Dez was right. Austin did want Ally to have it.

"Don't touch my book!" Austin said aloud, remembering the day that Ally had given him that booked.

Ally gave a small smile as soon as he'd said it.

Had...Had she heard him?

* * *

Austin spoke to Ally more that day. She was tempted to put Austin's songbook in the casket, to be buried with him. But Austin wanted her to have it, to read it. Perhaps she _had _heard him the last time he'd spoken, so maybe she would now.

"Don't. Keep it. I _want _you to." Austin says.

He also knew that Ally was nervous. He knew that she was remembering when she and Austin performed at the Jungle Cafe.

"It's part cafe, part jungle!" Austin says. Ally smiled, however she didn't know that Austin was speaking to her. She thought she was simply hearing him in her head.

Before the ceremony started, Ally flipped through a couple of pages in Austin's songbook, until she found one he'd been working on...for a while now. He had just finished it right before...the incident...For some reason though, he wanted her to play it.

"Yeah, play that one!" he cheered.

* * *

The speeches that his mother, father, and Trish gave all made Austin cry. Dez's speech made him laugh and cry at the same time, remembering those silly times with his friends, but upset that there wouldn't be anymore.

Austin cried the most, however, when Ally gave her speech. He realized that she didn't say anything about what happened at Sonic Boom the night he'd been killed. She just wanted to talk about good songwriting times with each other, and it made Austin smile that she chose not to remember that horrible night today.

Ally sat down and played the song on the piano with ease. It was a simple melody, but Austin was proud of himself for writing it. He personally thought it was beautiful, and certainly different from anything else you'd expect Austin Moon to write. Austin stood up so that he could go over and watch Ally up close as she played. As soon as Austin stood up, though she kept playing, she looked over in his direction. That's the third time she'd seen him out of the corner of her eye but didn't see him directly.

Austin walked over and looked over Ally's shoulder as her fingers moved along the keys...He'd missed this.

* * *

It was late.

It was almost sun down. Austin's casket had already been put six feet underground. Austin sat atop his own tomb stone and watched the very last person who was still here.

Ally.

She stayed here after everyone left, just...starring at the grave.

"Ally, say something." Austin begged, wondering if she'd hear him.

"I miss you." Ally finally says, "I miss you a lot." she says, "And I really _do _love you...I just wish we could have gotten a chance to be together..." she says, starting to cry again, "But you're in a better place now, right?...Just...wherever you are...save a spot for me when I get there, okay? It's not gonna be for quite a while, but..." she trails off, "I'd better get home. My dad is gonna worry. But I'll come see you whenever I can, okay?" she asks, as if he would respond. There's a pause, "Bye." she finally says. And with that, she turns around and walks away.

Austin had tears running down his face. He knew it was going to be a tough decision to make, but in a way, he knew all along who he was going to choose to be able to communicate with.

Austin stood up and brushed himself off. He had somebody to visit...

**And that's the third chapter! Woo! That was long! But I'm very proud of myself for doing so. Again, if you wish to hear the piano piece that Ally played at Austin's funeral, go to youtube-if you have access to do so-and search 'Motionless in White city lights piano cover' and click on the first video. It is AMAZING!**

**So, who is Austin going to go visit? What did you think of the chapter? Let me know in your reviews! Also, keep up the good reviews for 'May' too!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVORITE!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey! Sorry I didn't get to update yesterday. I wanted to, but I had an audition. Fingers crossed for a callback! I've only just gone back to work by auditioning for the first time in over a month, so wish me luck everyone!**

**Anyways, I left you guys at quite the cliffhanger last chapter, didn't I? It was a pretty LOOOONNGG chapter. I'm not sure how many more of those we're going to have in this story, but hopefully more than just that one. So, what's going to happen with Austin? Which one human is he going to choose to communicate with? How is that person going to react to him being there? How are the people around this person going to react to them acting so strange? And what about the aftermath of Austin's funeral?**

**ALSO! If you want to find the piano piece that Ally played at Austin's funeral, go to youtube-if you have access to it-and search 'Motionless in White city lights piano cover'. It's. AMAZING. And it's going to be used a bit more in this story.**

**Okay, I own no references used. Let's go!**

* * *

The more Austin thought about it, the more he knew he would have to be strategic. He couldn't just waltz up to her and say 'Hey! How's it going?'! He had to be careful. So at first, he'd make a subtle approach. He'd only let her see him out of the corner of her eye at first, then make a few movements here and there. Then eventually...he'd just let her see him. Then he'd explain everything that was going on, and hopefully she'd be okay with it.

Austin had told Malayah who he'd chosen, and she told him where to go from there.

So, Austin sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for said person to awaken. They didn't have a very sound sleep. Austin's funeral was yesterday, and everyone was having a pretty hard time. Austin had made his rounds. He went to see his parents and Trish and Dez before coming here. They'd all been crying. He so badly wanted to comfort them and tell them that everything was going to be okay with him. That he was...happy, for lack of better words. Though I suppose 'alright' would be a better choice of words.

Austin didn't see Ally without makeup very often. He only saw her without it a couple of times when she came on tour with him. In the mornings she wouldn't have her makeup on yet. But most of the time, she was awake way earlier than he was, and had her makeup on by the time he'd woken up. But she was still incredibly beautiful without it. It brought out the freckles on her cheeks.

Austin had become to realize he didn't sleep. He _could _sleep if he wanted to, if there was nothing else to do, or simply for pleasure. However, he didn't _have _to. It just wasn't something he needed to do. And because of that, he sat there all night, watching Ally sleep. He had to help her fall asleep again by transferring his thoughts of sleep to her. She'd been crying over him, and he didn't want her to feel that way.

Today was Saturday. She'd be able to sleep in if she wanted to, but knowing Ally, her automatic alarm clock would awaken her at any second. It always did.

As if on cue, Ally's eyes open. Instantly, she could see Austin out of the corner of her eye. She jumped, and looked over at him.

She saw nothing.

Austin watched Ally's wide eyes as she was unable to see him. She rubbed her eyes, which were still red, then grabbed her phone on the nightstand. She had a text message from her dad that read,

_Morning, honey! Had to go to the store early today. You stay home, relax. Consider it a payed vacation. Feel better, and if you ever wanna talk about this, we can. :) -Dad_

Ally put her phone back down and stood up. She stiffened, as she was able to see Austin out of the corner of her eye again. She relaxes, "I don't know if I'm actually seeing you, or if I'm going crazy. But...If you're really there...If you can even hear me...Please don't leave."

She then walks over to her closet and picks out an outfit for the day. It consisted of a large hoodie-which Austin soon realized used to be his-and yoga pants. She then walked out of the bedroom so that she could shower.

She wasn't sure if he was real, that much Austin was sure of. So, Austin knew exactly what to do to prove to Ally that he was real. Ally was occupied in the shower, so he decided he would leave for just a few minutes. He'd have to go visit his grave in order for his plan to work.

* * *

The color red. It made Ally feel nauseous. It was the color of blood, and it was the color of the T-shirt Austin was wearing when he died. So, quite obviously, she had to look away when the blood trickled down her side. She was seeing Austin out of the corner of her eyes, and she had to make sure that she wasn't dreaming. So, to feel real pain, to see and smell her real blood, it comforted her that she was living in the real world.

Austin waited until Ally was completely dressed before he entered the bathroom. Ally put her still wet hair into a high pony tail, then looked down for a moment, balancing her hands on the sink. She then stiffened again, and Austin knew she could see his reflection out of the corner of her eye in the mirror. She looked up, trying to see him directly. He disappeared before she could.

Ally walked out of the bathroom and entered her room. She looked over at her nightstand. There lay her song book, right next to Austin's. She walked over and grabbed both of them, then she grabbed a pen, and she walked out of her bedroom.

Austin followed Ally down the stairs of her large, empty house. She walked out of her house and onto the front porch. She sat on the porch swing and curled her legs up next to her. She opened Austin's songbook first, and Austin realized that she was looking at his piano piece again, the one she'd played at his funeral. **(Again, if you want to hear this piano piece, go to youtube-if you have access to it-and search 'Motionless in White city lights piano cover) **Austin sat on the porch swing next to her, watching her as she read over the music notes. Once she finished reading it over, she closed the book and then opened her own songbook. She then grabbed her pen and started writing down lyrics like mad. Austin decided not to look at them; he'd want to wait until the song was finished for him to know what the lyrics were.

Ally didn't eat anything that entire day. Austin knew he'd have to show himself to her soon, but it had to be at the right time.

* * *

Ally ate a bit of the dinner that her dad had brought her later that night, but not much. It wasn't because she didn't necessarily _want _to, but because she simply didn't feel like it. The same thing happened on Sunday. She simply didn't _feel _like eating. This concerned Austin. Though, little did he know that Ally was in much worse shape than he thought. Ally was still seeing him out of the corners of her eyes, and she was still in denial that he was actually there. So, to assure herself she wasn't dreaming, she'd slash her stomach and sides with a razor whenever she showered. Of course, she had to look up, as the color red and the sight of blood made her feel queasy. But the pain, the _real _pain she felt, assured her that she was living in the real world. Austin was unaware of her doing this, however. Everyone was.

When he _did _decide to show himself to her, Austin would have something with him, to _prove _to Ally that he was real, and that she wasn't just seeing him. Austin had gradually let her see him more and more over the passed couple of days. Though hardly ever at school. He didn't want to distract her from that. But before and after school, he was there when she woke up, and was there when she went to sleep.

Monday was Ally's first day back at Sonic Boom. She'd put a fake smile on her face for the customers. Lots of people apologized to her, knowing that she was Austin Moon's best friend and ex-girlfriend. She always assured them that she was okay, lying through her perfect white teeth.

During her lunch break, Ally only ate half a sandwich. She knew she needed to eat, but she just never felt like it. She walked up to the practice room, for the first time since the night Austin died. She closed the orange door behind her, then slid down to the floor and cried. She cried every day. She told everybody she was fine.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Why doesn't Austin just transfer thoughts of hunger and happiness to Ally? Why doesn't he do the same thing he does when he tries to get her to sleep? Well, Austin didn't like the idea of controlling Ally. If Ally was going to eat, Austin wanted it to be because _she _wanted to eat. If Ally was going to be happy, Austin wanted it to be because _she _wanted to be happy. He didn't want it to be by his doing. He wanted to give Ally her own free will.

Ally stopped crying and stood up. She grabbed her song book, and Austin's songbook, and walked over to the piano. She took a breath before sitting down. It felt strange sitting there by herself. She was so used to having someone else sit next to her. She opened both books and propped them up on the piano. She opened Austin's book to the piano piece, and she opened her book to the page with new lyrics she'd been working on. **(See above for where to find piano piece.)**

Austin watched as Ally began to play the piano piece he'd written. He then realized that she'd written lyrics for it. He was suddenly very intrigued. He watched and listened intently as her fingers played the simple melody he'd written and she began to sing, _"Paralyzed...By my envy...Of the night...I am lost without you here...And outside it looks like rain...For the last time...I bleed myself dry tonight, And nothing I could ever write, Would help you understand this life, There's so much beauty when your eyes, Lay lost in all the city lights, The wax will drip as so as blood, Romance is dead and all is lust, You are the water in my lungs, We've lost...It..."_ She stops playing, and pauses.

"That's all I've got so far." she says aloud, as if he could hear her. Maybe she knew he was there, "Do you like it?" she asks.

Austin nods, wondering if she could see him out of the corner of her eye.

Ally smiles...She actually smiles, "Good." she says.

She could see him out of the corner of her eye.

"You're going to go away if I look directly at you, aren't you?" she asks.

Austin doesn't respond.

"That's what I thought." Ally says.

* * *

Ally walked into the bathroom, not even bothering to shut the door. She dug through her purse, and took out her pocket knife. Yes, she had a pocket knife. Dez had given it to her when he asked her to carve tomatoes for Halloween with him-don't ask-and he told her she could keep it. The strange gift at the time seemed useful now.

Ally looked at her reflection in the mirror. She saw a broken girl. A girl who saw nothing to live for. She had bags under her eyes, she had cuts on her sides that no one could see, and her lips were scabbed and chapped, as she'd been chewing them. Ally looked down at her wrist. She took a breath, then lined the pocket knife up at her wrist. She took another breath, then slid the knife deep into her flesh. Since blood made her feel sick, Ally had to look up.

And what she saw in the mirror, was not only her...But a very surprised, very startled, very frightened Austin. She gasped at seeing him.

"No!" he exclaimed, knocking the knife out of her hands and sending it flying. It landed in the bathtub with a *clank* sound, "Ally! What the hell are you doing?!" he exclaimed.

"I'm sorry!" Ally says, falling to her knees and covering her face with her hands, crying. She felt Austin grab her and pull her close to him. He pulled her up so that she was standing and put her wrist under the sink and let the water rush over the blood. After literally five minutes of her hand under the water, it was still bleeding, however not as much.

"You have bandages. Where are they?" Austin asks her.

"U-under the sink." Ally says, not quite able to get the sentence out as she was unable to believe what she was seeing.

"Ally? Is everything okay?" her dad calls.

"Yeah dad! I just tripped, that's all!" Ally calls out to him.

"Okay! Be more careful next time!" her dad calls in return.

"I will!" Ally calls.

Austin gets the bandages and starts to wrap them around Ally's wrist.

"I-I don't understand...A-are you real?" Ally asks.

"Yes, I'm real." Austin says in a tone that Ally didn't like. He sounded angry.

"Are you mad at me?" Ally asks, barely at whisper level. However, because of Austin's enhanced sense of hearing, he was able to hear it perfectly.

Austin sighs, "No," he says, "You just scared me. _Never _do this again, do you hear me?" he asks her.

Ally nods like an ashamed child, getting caught doing something bad.

"Now, let's get you to bed; it's getting late." Austin says. He takes her hand and guides her to her bed.

"But, Austin..." Ally says as Austin gets her situated in bed.

"Don't worry, I promise I'll still be here when you wake up."

"But-"

"Ally, have I ever broken a promise to you?" he asks, turning off the light.

"No, but-"

"No but's. You need to sleep." Austin says, getting into the bed next to her, "I promise, I won't leave you. Please, just sleep. You have school tomorrow."

Ally sighs and nods. She snuggles into Austin's chest, a few tears streaming down her face. Some of shame, others of happiness. Ashamed that Austin had caught her trying to commit suicide, and how stupid it was, but happy that he was here. It didn't matter how confused she was. He was here with her.

Usually, Austin's heartbeat would help her fall asleep...But Austin didn't have a heartbeat.

"You don't have a heartbeat." Ally says, suddenly startled.

"That's because I'm dead. Now sleep."

"But-"

"Sleep. I'll explain everything in the morning. Sleep." Austin says.

Ally blinks, then snuggles into Austin again and shuts her eyes.

Austin suddenly chuckles, "And you thought ghosts weren't real." he says. He lightly kisses the top of Ally's head before she falls asleep.

**So...What'd ya think? I think it was pretty good, or maybe that's just me.**

**REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

Ally woke up the next morning, alone. She was angered. Austin had promised that he'd be there when she woke up! Unless, she never saw Austin. Unless it was all a dream...

But she still had the bandages around her wrist where she'd slit it. She never put those bandages on, Austin did. But he'd promised he'd be here...

Ally sighed, then got out of bed and stretched. She supposed she should get ready. She grabbed a simple pair of jeans, and a yellow and green floral long-sleeved shirt to cover the scar on her wrist. She'd stopped bleeding by now, but there was still a pretty nasty gash. She apparently hadn't cut deep enough in order to kill herself, and Austin had stopped her before she could go any further. At least...She's pretty sure it was Austin...

Ally was about to undress, when she suddenly got uncomfortable.

"You don't ever watch me change, do you?" she asks Austin, wondering if he was still there.

She got no response.

Just in case, she decided she'd change in the bathroom.

* * *

Ally adjusted her bright yellow pumps that matched her shirt, then headed out the door, both hers and Austin's songbooks in her backpack along with her books. Her dad had already gone to open up Sonic Boom, so the house was empty again. Ally didn't really mind though. She'd gotten used to it.

Ally got in her car that was parked in the garage. She looked behind her as she backed her car out, making sure she didn't hit anything. When she looked forward again, Austin was there, sitting in the passenger seat.

"Ah!" Ally exclaims, startled.

"Sorry." Austin says.

"What the hell! You said you'd be there when I woke up this morning." Ally says.

"I just appeared in the front seat of your car, and _that's _the first question you ask?" Austin asks, "And I _was _there. You just couldn't see me."

"Why couldn't I see you?"

"I didn't know who was in your house, so I hid. I didn't want to risk your dad or anyone hearing us talking. And I knew you'd start asking me questions the minute you saw me." Austin says.

"Well yeah! What are you?! Some kind of..." she trails off, trying to find the right word.

"Ghost?" Austin asks.

Ally pauses, "Y-Yeah...Yeah I guess, I guess that would be the right word." she says.

"Well to answer your question, yes, that's exactly what I am." Austin says.

"I don't understand." Ally says.

"I died. It's as simple as that. There's this thing called 'the afterlife' which I suppose would be heaven, for lack of better words. I can go back and fourth from there and earth as often as I want. For some reason, I'm only allowed to communicate with one human. Something about the balance of nature, I don't know. Anyways, you're the one person I've chosen."

"What?!" Ally asks, slamming on the breaks once she hits a red light.

"Easy there." Austin says.

"_I'm _the _only _human you can communicate with?! Why, Austin, why would you do that?! Why wouldn't you choose to be with one of your parents, o-or Trish or Dez?!" Ally asks.

"The light's green." Austin says. Ally continues driving, "It was a hard decision, believe me it was...But when I heard you play the piano piece I'd written, and the fact that you were the last one at my grave that night-"

"So it WAS you I saw." Ally says.

"Yep. Trust me, it was really hard to decide...But I've chosen you."

Ally pauses, "Well...Thank you...I guess." she says.

"As of right now, you're the only one that can see or hear me." Austin says, "But you know what the best part is?" he asks.

"What?" Ally asks, pulling up to a stop sign.

"I get to do this." Austin says, touching her hand.

"Oh my God..." Ally says.

"I can feel you." Austin says.

Ally smiles, "I can feel you too." she says.

Austin smiles in return, but then it fades as Ally continues driving, "Look, I'm sorry for all of the confusion, really. I know it's probably pretty hard to believe that you're actually talking to me." Austin says.

"A little bit. But don't worry. All of that confusion is worth it if we get to spend time together like we used to."

Austin nods, "I liked what you did with the song." he says, changing the subject.

Ally smiles, "So you WERE there for that." she says.

Austin smiles in return, "Yeah, I was." he says.

"Why didn't you show yourself to me earlier? I could see you out of the corner of my eye numerous times."

"I wanted to take things slowly. I didn't want to just randomly appear to you and be like 'Hey, what's up?!'. But then...last night...Don't ever do that again, Ally. Okay?"

Ally nods, "Okay." she says.

"I mean it, Ally. Look, I know...I know that there may have been some...mixed feelings in the past, but you've gotta move on. You're supposed to get married and have kids of your own. Hell, I shouldn't even be here, but I am." Austin says.

"But what if I don't want to move on? What if I'm still hung up on the only guy I've ever really loved and who said they loved me in return?" Ally asks.

Austin sighs, "Ally-"

"Look, you're here now. Why can't we just...focus on that for now?" Ally asks.

Austin pauses, "Okay." he says, "But you can't talk to me at school. I'll be there, but you have to pretend like you don't know that I'm there. No one can know that we're talking."

"And no one will. Don't worry." Ally assures him.

"You sound really sure of that."

"I am. No one really pays attention to what I do anymore."

"What do you mean?" Austin asks.

"Austin, I'm _that _girl. The girl who witnessed a murder. The girl who's kinda-boyfriend was killed in front of her. In just a couple days, I've gone from pop star, to freak show." Ally says.

* * *

As promised, Austin stayed with her all day. It made her feel safe, and secure. It bugged Austin, however, how the people looked at Ally. Everyone either gave her a weird 'stay away from me' kind of look, or a sad 'oh, I'm so sorry for you' look. Austin could tell that Ally was NOT comfortable with it.

"Hey," Trish says as she approaches Ally at her locker, "How's it going?" she asks.

"Actually, I'm feeling a lot better today." Ally says.

"Good. I was afraid it would take you a while to get back on your feet."

"Well, it's just one good day. Who knows what tomorrow's gonna be like." Ally says.

Dez walks over, "Hey guys." he says.

"Hey." Ally and Trish say in unison.

"How have you been, Dez?" Ally asks.

"Okay, I guess." he says, "Call me crazy but...Do you guys ever get the feeling that...you know...like he's still here?" Dez asks.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Ally says.

"Yeah, I guess I get that feeling sometimes. I still _expect _him to walk into Sonic Boom sometimes. Yesterday I almost booked him to play on Miami Music." she says, "Ally, do you wanna do it?"

"Perform on Miami Music...?" Ally asks.

"Yeah. I still have one client that could do it." Trish says, referring to Ally.

Ally swallows, "I'm sorry, I just...I-I don't think I could do it." Ally says. And with that, she walks away.

She turns a corner and the hallway is almost completely empty.

"Uh, what the hell was that?" A familiar voice says.

Ally turns around and sees Austin looking at her.

"I thought I wasn't supposed to talk to you during school."

"Well, the hallway is practically empty. Now, what was that about? Why don't you wanna perform on Miami Music? That's a huge opportunity." Austin says.

"I know, it's just...I don't think I could perform without seeing you in the front row, cheering me on. You've been there for all of my performances." Ally says.

"Ally, I _will _be there." Austin says.

Ally shakes her head, "You just...*sigh* You don't get it." she says, "I have to get to chemistry." she says. And with that, she walks off.

"And to answer your question," Austin says, making Ally stop in her tracks, "No...I don't ever watch you change." he says, referring to earlier that morning.

Ally pauses, letting his words sink in, before walking to class again.

* * *

Ally sat on her bed in her room, copying down notes from her history book. It'd been another long day at school today. Especially since she and Austin didn't talk for the rest of the day...And yet, here he was, sitting on the edge of the bed with her, watching her work.

Ally sighs, then looks up, "Are you gonna say something, or are you just gonna stare at me?" she asks.

"I'm honestly not sure what I _can _say." Austin says.

Ally lets out a huff, then shuts her book so that she can focus her attention on Austin, "I've been thinking," she says, "And...I'm going to perform on Miami Music."

Austin smiles, "Ally, that's great-"

"On one condition." Ally says.

Austin pauses, "Okay," he says, "Name it."

* * *

The theme that day on Miami Music was 'Remembering Austin Moon'. Lots of people performed various Austin Moon songs, remembering how great me was. People in the audience were crying, and people watching at home probably were too.

Ally paced in the green room backstage, waiting to be called on. She hadn't felt this nervous since before she got over her stage fright. It was her first time performing in front of an audience since Austin died, so this was a big deal.

"Hey." Austin says.

Ally jumps, and whirls around, not knowing he was there, "You have _got _to find a less scary way to make your entrances." she says.

Austin chuckles, "Sorry." he says, "You nervous?"

"Nervous is an understatement." Ally says, "I feel like I have stage fright all over again."

"Alls, come on," Austin says, stopping the petite brunette before she can start pacing again, "You're gonna do great." he says.

"You think?"

"Yes." Austin confirms, wrapping his arms around the small girl.

Ally wrapped her arms around his torso and let herself relax. She'd missed being in his arms like this.

Austin then breaks the embrace, "Someone's coming." he says.

Just then, Trish opens the door, "Ally, you're on." she says.

Ally nods, then walks out of the room. Austin follows close behind.

* * *

"A week ago today, Austin Moon's life was taken from him in a brutal manner. His partner and good friend, Ally Dawson, was a witness to this tragedy. She hasn't spoken of the event, nor has she performed since it happened. Well, now, for the first time since Austin Moon died, Ally is going to come out and express herself to us. Ladies and gentlemen, the beautiful Ally Dawson." the host says.

Ally walks out, waving to the audience. Everyone in the crowd stands up, clapping and cheering for her. Ally hadn't shown her face on camera since the incident, and since she was THERE when it happened, this was a big deal.

"Thank you, everybody." she says into the microphone as the crowd starts to die down, "After...After Austin died...I was given his personal song book, that I gave to him just months ago. In it, I found this...this beautiful piano piece..." Ally says, starting to tear up, "And so...I started writing lyrics for this song. Lyrics about...about how I feel, and how things have been since Austin passed." Tears were rolling down her face. She began to walk towards the piano, "These lyrics are completely different from anything I would ever normally write, and the music behind it is completely different from anything Austin would write, but he _did _write it; _we _wrote it...This song is called 'City Lights'."

Ally began to play the piano, the simple melody that Austin came up with. As she looked up, she could see him backstage, watching her. If only Trish and Dez could see him, as he was standing right next to them.

Ally took a breath and began to sing.

_Paralyzed...By my envy...Of the night..._

_I am lost without you here..._

_And outside it looks like rain..._

She held on to the note with passion, trying not to let her voice crack.

_For the last time..._

_I bleed myself dry tonight_

_And nothing I could ever write_

_Would help you understand this life_

_There's so much beauty when your eyes_

_Lay lost in all the city lights_

_The wax will drip as so as blood_

_Romance is dead and all is lust_

_You are the water in my lungs_

_We've lost it..._

For a moment as Ally held onto that note, everything was normal. She was performing, and her three best friends were there to cheer her on. But of course, everything has to go back to normal eventually. Ally's fingers grazed over the keys with ease as she played the long piano solo to the tune of the chorus. People in the audience were crying, and at this rate, she was too, but she would save her sobs for the end of the song. She repeated the chorus once more.

_And nothing I could ever write_

_Would help you understand this life_

_There's so much beauty when your eyes_

_Lay lost in all the city lights_

_The wax will drip as so as blood_

_Romance is dead and all is lust_

_You are the water in my lungs_

_We've lost...it...all..._

She played the last couple of notes, and then the room was silent, the last note ringing through the air.

The audience erupted in cheers, and Ally actually let herself smile.

**I know I haven't updated in forever. I'm sorry! I've just been kinda busy lately.**

**IF YOU WANT MORE INFO ON THE SONG THAT ALLY SANG, 'City Lights', PM ME! Because there are some things about that song that I have to explain and it's just easier to do it in PMs.**

**And, as always, REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVORITE!**

**I will try to update 'May' as soon as possible.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in forever. I've been crazy busy lately. But I'm here now, aren't I?**

**So the last chapter was kind of a filler chapter, but the next couple of chapters are going to get pretty intense, and pretty confusing too. But that's the beauty of this story! And I hope you guys will like it.**

**I own no references used. Let's go!**

* * *

The next couple of weeks weren't bad. Ally stayed away from the media from a while, but everyone understood. She refused any and all interviews, and just tried to be a normal girl for a little while-despite the fact that she could talk to her kind-of-boyfriend's ghost. For the most part, it worked, and she was happy. She worked at Sonic Boom, focused on her school work, and everything was okay again. Dez and Trish went back to being themselves too. Just the other day, Dez drove into Sonic Boom on a seg-way, then Trish ran in angrily, as Dez had stolen it from her. She'd become the new mall cop and he'd taken it from her when she wasn't looking. The sight made Ally smile, and it made Austin smile too. He was glad to see his friends back to normal again.

However, Ally was still slicing her flesh. She still was never quite sure how real Austin was when she was talking to him. As previously mentioned, seeing real blood and feeling real pain let Ally know that she was still in the real world, and Austin was too. It comforted her. Now, her stomach was almost completely covered in scars and scabs that were now beginning to peel. She'd moved on to her arms and inner thighs. She was sort of going crazy...

Ally sat on Austin's lap in the lounge chair in the practice room of Sonic Boom. She lay her head on his chest and he had his arms wrapped around her protectively. Sometimes, things like this scared Ally. Like, what if-despite the fact that Austin was a ghost-things moved further along in their relationship? Like...more than friends? What if things got _too _far? What if he saw her scars? What would he think of her then? Yeah, because that's gonna happen.

"Why don't you try writing another song?" Austin suggests.

Ally shakes her head, "I don't want to. I just wanna be here...with you."

"Ally, I'll be there with you. Hell, I'll even help you write it. I just wanna see you get back to your old self again."

"I am."

"No you're not, Ally. You're better, but you're not the Ally that I used to know. The Ally that I kissed on New Years, that's not you anymore."

"Well, I'm sorry Austin, but the Ally that you kissed on New Years died with you that night." Ally says.

There's a silence.

"You're skinnier than I remember." Austin states.

Ally still hadn't been eating much since Austin died. At first, it wasn't bad, but now it was. She looked sick. Austin didn't want to bring it up at first at fear of hurting her feelings and potentially making it worse. However now, she looked like she desperately needed a burger.

"Thanks. I guess I _have _dropped a couple of pounds." Ally says.

"No, Ally, I mean you look _skinny_. You look sick, Ally."

"Austin, I'm fine."

"No, you're not, Ally. Your dad is starting to worry too; he's catching on to my distress signals."

"Distress signals?"

"Yeah. You know how sometimes you just _feel _like something bad is going to happen? You're not sure why, but you can just feel it?"

"Yeah."

"That's signals of distress and worry from spirits. Just like you can tell when someone is worried when they're alive, you can tell when they're dead, just in a different way." Austin says.

There's another pause.

"Someone's coming." Austin says. He then disappears, and Ally lands on the lounge chair with an 'oomph'.

Trish then walks in, "Hey." she says.

"Hey." Ally says, re-situating herself.

"Who were you talking to?"

"I wasn't talking to anyone." Ally says.

"You sure? I could have sworn I heard you talking to someone."

"Nope. Just me up here." Ally says, her lying skills improved.

Dez then walks in, "Hey guys! What's up?" he asks, going to the fridge and grabbing a soda.

"Ally won't tell me who she was talking to." Trish says.

"Trish, I already told you, I wasn't talking to anyone." Ally says.

Dez sits down and opens his soda, "Trish, are you sure you're not mistaking Ally for the little voices everyone has in their heads?"

Trish and Ally just stare at him.

"What voices?" Ally asks.

"Who said anything about voices?" Dez asks.

Ally looks over at Austin, who had reappeared in the room, "No, I'm not talking to him. He's had those voices since he was seven. It's just a Dez thing." he says. Ally nods.

"What are you looking at?" Trish asks.

Ally snaps out of it, "Oh. Nothing." she says.

Trish blinks, "Okay." she says.

There's a pause.

"Does anyone else...Does anyone else feel like he's still here? Like Austin is still here?" Dez asks.

"I do." Ally says, without hesitation.

"I thought you didn't believe in that stuff." Trish says.

"I never said I didn't believe that Austin could be watching us, making sure we're doing okay." Ally says.

Trish nods, "I guess that's true...Sometimes I feel it too. A lot at school, here. Usually whenever I'm with you." she says to Ally.

Dez laughs, "Ha! Looks like even after death he still has eyes for Ally."

Out of the corner of her eye, Ally could see Austin turning beat red.

"What do you mean?" Ally asks.

"You didn't know? Austin was totally in love with you." Trish asks.

"What?!"

"Yeah! We talked about it all the time!" Dez says.

Ally blinks, "And nobody bothered to mention this to me?!" she asks, looking at Austin.

"What do you keep looking at?" Trish asks.

Ally snaps out of it, "Huh? Oh, I thought I saw a spider. Turned out to be nothing." she says.

"Oh. Well anyways, yeah. After you walked away from me on New Years, Austin came over. He'd been talking to Dez and I about you for the last month and was thinking about asking you out again the next day, and was asking me if I thought he should or not. I told him to go for it...We never told you this before because we didn't know how you would handle it; but you seemed to be feeling a lot better this week, so I guess now was as good a time as ever." Trish says.

Ally sits back in the lounge chair, all of this hitting her like a brick wall, "Oh." Is all she says.

There's another pause.

"You know what?" Dez asks. He stands up and walks over to the fridge and grabs two more sodas. He gives one to Trish, and one to Ally, "Austin would have done this if it were any of us in his shoes, so I say we do it for him." Dez says. Trish and Ally nod, understanding, and walk over to him, opening their soda cans, "To Austin." Dez says.

"To Austin." Trish and Ally repeat, hitting their sodas against each other's and taking a sip. Ally looks over and sees Austin giving them a sad smile.

"And you know what guys?" Ally asks, "I'm sure Austin misses us just as much as we miss him." she says.

Dez gives a sad smile, "I hope not. I would hate for him to feel that way for us." he says. This is how Ally and Trish know that he is still hurting.

"Come on, Dez. What's not to miss about this?" Trish asks, gesturing to herself and trying to lighten the mood.

"I can name a few things." Dez mutters. Trish glares at him. Austin laughs.

"Well, I've gotta get back down and watch the store. You coming?" Ally asks.

"No, I think we're gonna stay up here and play a game of fooze-ball." Dez says.

"Oh, I wasn't talking to-" Ally says before cutting herself off. She'd been talking to Austin, "Okay." she finally says before walking out of the practice room, Austin following her. She shuts the door behind her.

"Oh. My God." Trish says to Dez.

"I know." Dez says.

"She looks like she hasn't eaten a bite of food in a year!" Trish says.

"What I wanna know, is how could her dad not notice?" Dez asks.

"Yeah, I don't know about that either." Trish says, "I also can't believe she didn't know Austin was in love with her."

"Well, she said he told her he loved her right before he was killed."

"Yeah, but that could have been any kind of 'I love you' for all she knew. It could have been like 'I love you like a best friend' or 'I love you like a sister'. I'm not sure if Austin ever told Ally that he was _in _love with her."

"You think he'd still be in love with her if he could see what she's turned into?" Dez asks.

"I don't know, but what ever is going on with her needs to stop, and soon. I'm really starting to worry about her." Trish says.

* * *

"So, you were in love with me, huh?" Ally asks Austin with a smirk on her face.

"Can we not talk about this now? You have customers." Austin says.

"Alright, fine, but don't think you can avoid this subject forever." Ally says, proudly. She turns around and sees her dad.

"Who were you talking to?" Lester asks.

"Oh, um...I was just talking to Mom on the phone." Ally says, "I wish she was here."

"Honey, I know you miss her, and I know that the passed couple of weeks have been hard, but your mom will be home from Asia in just a couple more months." Lester says. He then goes back upstairs to grab some things from the storage room.

"You've gotta be more careful where you talk to me. That's the second time today someone has asked you who you were talking to." Austin points out.

"I know, and you're right. From now on, I'll be more careful." Ally says.

Suddenly, Ronnie Ramone walks into the store.

"Oh. Ronnie, hi. What can I do for you?" Ally asks.

"I'm gonna get right to the point, Ally. Your fans are getting antsy and impatient. They're waiting to here from you! Look, I know the past couple of weeks have been difficult for you, what with Austin passing and all, but it's time to move on from that and start focusing on your music again!"

"Ronnie, I'm sorry the fans are upset, but I'm just on a break. I think they understand that."

"Ally, you've been on a break for over three weeks. It's time to get back on your feet." Ronnie says.

"I'm just not sure if I can do it right now, Mr. Ramone." Ally says.

"Ally-" Austin starts.

"Let me get right to the point. If I don't see you in the studio, this Saturday, with a new song written and ready to record, I'm going to drop you from my record label."

"What?! Ally, you can't do this!" Austin says.

Ally completely looks passed him, "Then, I'm sorry Ronnie. Looks like Ramone Records has a new spot available." she says.

Ronnie looked steaming mad, however instead of saying anything more, he simply walked out of the store.

"Ally! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Austin asks.

"I'm sorry, Austin, but he was being unreasonable." Ally says.

"But Ally, I'm here! I'm here, okay, I'm here! The whole reason I showed myself to you is so that you could continue your life as it was before I died!"

"Well how do I know that you're real, Austin?! Huh?! How do I know that you're not just some figure of my imagination?!" Ally asks.

"Sssshhh!" Austin says to her, however no one seemed to hear her rant. He sighs, "I was afraid you might say that." he says.

"Well, can you blame me?" Ally asks.

"No, I guess not." Austin says, "Look, I wasn't going to do this unless I absolutely needed to, but...I got you something. Something to let you know that I'm here, and that I'm real, and that I'm not leaving you." Austin says. He pulls out a small velvet box and opens it.

Ally gasps, "Oh my God..."

"It was my grandmother's. My dad gave it to me after she died when I was fifteen. He told me to give it to a girl I fell in love with...It was buried with me, so that's how I was able to get it...And you're the only girl I've ever fallen in love with so...here." Austin says, taking the diamond ring out of the box and slipping it on Ally's finger, "Consider it a promise ring...A promise that no matter what happens in your life...I'll always be here with you." Austin says.

"I love it," Ally says, looking at the ring. She then looks up at Austin, "And...I love _you_..."

The room suddenly got lots quieter, and Austin and Ally just looked into each other's eyes. Austin slowly leaned in and cupped the side of Ally's face. Their foreheads pressed against each other, and for a moment it was just them...

"Ally! You can go on your lunch break now!" Lester calls from the storage room.

Ally mentally curses. They break the embrace and Ally opens her mouth to speak when, "Don't you dare skip your lunch break. Not today." Austin says.

Ally swallows, then nods, "Okay!" she calls to her dad.

"Good. Now, you're gonna go to 'Wetzles Pretzels' and get yourself some pretzel bites."

"Austin-"

"Ally, do it. You need to eat, and I'm worried about you."

Ally sighs and grabs her purse, "Okay." she says. She walks out of Sonic Boom with Austin, who puts his arm around her.

They walk out of Sonic Boom just as Lester walks out of the storage room, and Dez and Trish walk out of the practice room.

Trish turns to Lester, "Mr. Dawson, you heard Ally say 'Austin' too, right?"

"Uh huh." Lester says, "Did you kids pick up any thing else?"

"I couldn't get much. I know something happened with Ronnie Ramone, I heard the whole thing about her asking 'Austin' if he was 'real' since she practically screamed it, and...I heard her say 'I love you'..." Trish says.

"Dez, what about you?" Lester asks.

"Same." Dez says.

And for a minute, they all just sort of...stare at each other...

**Dun dun dun...What's gonna happen next?! Dez, Trish, AND Lester know that Ally is talking to Austin! But they don't think that she's REALLY talking to him...do they? And what about the ring? What's going to happen in THAT situation? You're gonna have to keep reading and find out! I'll update as soon as possible. And now, I want pretzel bits from 'Wetzel's Pretzels', which I do not own by the way.**

**And, as always, REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVORITE!**


	7. Chapter 7

Austin sat and watched carefully as Ally ate her pretzel bits, making sure she ate all of them.

"Can you not do that? It's kinda freaking me out." Ally says.

Austin chuckles, "Sorry. I'm just worried about you, that's all."

Ally sighs, "I know. I'm sorry I worried you. I promise I'll try harder to try and make it seem like things are normal again."

Austin nods, "Good. Thank you." he says.

Ally nods in return and continues eating. She looks at her hand, "This ring is so pretty." she says, "Thank you, for giving it to me."

Austin smiles, "You're welcome. I probably would have given it to you anyways..." he says.

Ally nods. There's a small, slightly awkward silence before she speaks up again, "So...what does this mean for us now?" she asks.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Austin, come on. Trish and Dez told me you were in love with me what, fifteen minutes ago? And right after that...I told you I feel the same way and...we almost kissed and-"

"Yeah...I know." Austin says.

"Look, Austin, I know you want me to move on and find someone else, and have a normal life, but...I'm just not sure I can do that." Ally says.

"Ally-"

"Austin don't try to argue. I love you and I know you love me too."

"Ally, people are staring." Austin says.

Ally sighs, then stands up and walks away. She walks around a corner and not many people are there, so she continued, "Austin-"

"Ally, hang on. Just let me say something." Austin says, "Okay, you're right. I _do _love you, more than anything, but-"

"But what? We can't be together because you're dead?" Ally asks.

"I just want you to have a normal life." Austin says.

Ally sighs, "Austin, from the moment you walked into Sonic Boom two and a half years ago, my life has been the furthest thing from normal, and you know that. So what if my life is a little...abnormal? It won't be any different than it was when you were alive."

Austin pauses, not saying anything for a while, then, "Let's head back to Sonic Boom."

Ally looks crestfallen, "Fine." she says, trying not to let her voice crack.

"Ally-"

"Look, Austin, if you really want me to move on from you, then get the hell away from me. It's going to be way to hard for me to get on with my life with you always there to remind me what could have happened if that night never happened. So either tell me you love me and kiss me and hold me and never let me go, or get out of my sight and never visit me again until I too am dead like you." Ally says.

And with that, she walks away.

* * *

Ally walks back into Sonic Boom with tears in her eyes.

"Ally? What's wrong?" Lester asks, walking over to her.

"Huh? Oh, nothing, I'm fine. My eyes are just a little watery." Ally says, lying.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, dad, I'm fine." Ally assures him.

"What's that?" Lester asks, pointing to the diamond ring on Ally's hand.

"That? Don't worry, it's just a knock off. I got it for a discount when Trish worked at the jewelry store. You know, before she got fired." Ally says.

"Discounted knock offs?" Lester asks, "I'm so proud of you!" he says. With that, he walks away.

"You know, it's sort of alarming how much your dad loves money." A familiar voice says.

Ally turns around, and in the middle of the empty store was Austin.

"You came back." Ally states.

"I don't have much time since your dad and Trish and Dez are all here and could walk in on us at any second. I promise we'll talk later tonight back at your place, but in the mean time..." Austin starts.

Ally raises her eyebrows, waiting for him to continue. Austin then walks over, pins Ally back against the counter and kisses her. Ally was alarmed and taken aback at first, but then she sunk into it, running her fingers through his blonde locks and pulling him closer to her. His lips moved in perfect sync with hers and their tongues lightly grazed each other. Austin sits Ally up on the counter and moves his way in between her legs. She wraps her legs around his waist and attempts to pull him even closer to her, which was near impossible. Austin's arms wrapped around Ally's small torso protectively, keeping her locked in his grasp.

Austin suddenly breaks the kiss, "Someone's coming. Love you."

And with that, he was gone.

Ally hops off the counter just as Trish and Dez come down from the practice room, "Woah, are you okay?" Trish asks.

"Yeah, why?" Ally asks.

"Your lips are all swollen." Dez says.

Ally gasps, but then tries to stay calm, "Oh, um...yeah, I know. I tried this new lip gloss and I think I'm having an allergic reaction to it. I'm fine though, really." She says, once again lying. God dammit, Austin.

Trish shrugs, "Okay." she says.

"What's that?" Dez asks, looking at the ring on Ally's hand.

"Oh. Well, things have been kinda tough lately so I though I'd buy a little something for myself while I was out. It's a knock off from the jewelry store. My entire hand will probably be green in the next couple of hours." Ally says. She hated all of this lying.

"It's really pretty. I might have to get me one of those." Trish says.

"We're gonna go grab something to eat. You wanna come?" Dez asks.

"Can't. I just got back from my lunch break and have to get back to work, but you guys go ahead." Ally says.

"Okay. See you later." Trish says.

* * *

Trish and Dez were at the beach club, when they saw Lester signing for his new shipment for the store.

"Mr. Dawson." Trish calls.

Lester looks over, "Oh. Hey kids."

"Have you noticed anything else weird about Ally?" Dez asks.

"Nothing aside from that ring she has. I don't think that that's really a knock off." Lester says.

"Well she just got it today, so it's gotta be. I don't see how she could have that kind of money for a ring _today _that _isn't _a knock off." Trish says.

"Wait, Ally told you she got it today? She told _me _she got it when you worked at the jewelry store, Trish." Lester says.

"That doesn't make any sense." Dez says.

"No, it doesn't." Trish says.

"Look, kids, I really don't wanna have to snoop on my daughter, but could you please just...keep an eye on her? Keep me posted?" Lester asks.

"Absolutely." Trish says.

"Okay, but I'm pretty sure Ally's gonna be pretty grossed out if I take my eye out and put it on her." Dez says.

Lester and Trish just stare at him.

* * *

Ally didn't eat for the rest of the day, nor did Austin show up the rest of the day. By the time she got home, she was tired, and about ready to fall asleep. She walked into her bedroom and flopped on her bed. For a while, she just stared at the ceiling, thinking about life...thinking about Austin.

"Where are you?" she said aloud, knowing that Austin was there. She wanted to see him.

"Hey." she hears.

Ally props herself up on her elbows, and there was Austin, at the foot of her bed.

"Hey." Ally says, smiling.

"You look tired." Austin says, crawling on to the bed with her.

"That's because I _am_."

"Then why don't you sleep?"

"Because I don't want to. I wanna talk to you and cuddle with you and feel you and kiss you and-"

Austin chuckles, "Ally, we can do all of that tomorrow. You need to sleep, and I promise I'll be here for you when you wake up." he says. There's a pause, "Your dad and Trish and Dez are on to us."

"They are?"

"Yeah. After our little...argument, I followed Trish and Dez around for a little while. They're getting really suspicious."

"Let them think what they want. As long as I get to be with you, none of that matters." Ally says. She snuggles into Austin's chest. It was still a bit odd not being able to hear a heartbeat, but his warmth alone was good enough to help her fall asleep.

* * *

"What do you mean Ronnie Ramone dropped you from his record label?!" Trish exclaims at school the next day.

"He was being unreasonable. I said I was still in the process of mourning for Austin, and he said that if I wasn't in the studio this Saturday with a new song written and ready to record, he'd drop me from his label. So I told him that I guess Ramone Records has a new spot available. And then he walked out." Ally says.

"Ally! Don't you realize what this means?! You don't have a record deal anymore!" Dez says.

"I know." Ally says.

"Ally, I figured you'd be more upset about this." Trish says.

"Look, guys, I'm just kind of trying to find myself right now. If not being a recording artist helps me do that, then so be it." Ally says, gathering her books from her locker.

Trish and Dez then have no other words to say. What more _could _they say?

Ally walks away. She decided she'd take the long way to English.

"I still can't believe you're so chill about Ronnie Ramone dropping you from his record label." Austin says, popping up next to her. It no longer made Ally jump when he appeared to her. She'd gotten used to it.

"Well, as you heard when I was talking to Trish and Dez, I'm just trying to find myself right now. If I ever decide I want to perform again, I'll start from square one all over again, but for now, it's just not happening. End of story." Ally says.

"Ally, people are staring."

"Then let them stare, I don't care what they think." Ally says before walking into the classroom.

"I thought I told you not to talk to me when you're in school."

"Well in order for that to work, you're gonna have to not talk to me either. I speak when spoken to." Ally says, sitting down.

"Fine."

"Fine." Ally confirms.

* * *

More and more, Ally was less careful about talking to Austin in public. She just didn't care. She didn't move around as well as she used to be able to because of the cracking scars on her stomach, thighs, and arms. Austin was still unaware of this, as was everyone else. Austin began to grow more and more worried. He told Ally that if she wasn't careful, he wouldn't come visit her as much, if at all. This made her grow more careful as to when and where she were to talk to him. When they were alone, they would hold hands and kiss and cuddle, like a normal couple would. Ally just wished she didn't have to pretend, that she didn't have to lie.

Lester, Trish, and Dez got more and more worried for Ally by the day. They knew something was up. Trish and Dez had caught Ally talking to 'Austin' a couple more times, while Lester had only seen it once more. He was growing stressed beyond belief, and finally, with the help of Trish and Dez, he came up with the only solution to the problem that he could think of.

"I'm gonna go take a quick shower, okay?" Ally asks Austin.

"I'll be here when you get out." Austin says. Ally smiles, quickly pecks Austin's lips, then walks into her bathroom.

Austin could hear Lester downstairs, talking to someone, and he was obviously stressed. Austin heard Lester say Ally's name, so he went downstairs to see what was going on. Lester was in the kitchen, talking on the phone to someone.

"Penny, she needs help." Lester says. He must have been talking to Penny Dawson, Ally's mother, "Well, can you think of anything better to do?" he asks, "Look, Penny, you're not here. You don't see what I see. Trust me, this is for the best." And with that, he hangs up the phone. He then dials a different number and speaks to the person on the other line, "Hi, it's Lester Dawson, we talked earlier...Yes, hi. I'd like to talk to you about my daughter possibly staying with you..."

* * *

Austin runs into the bedroom just as Ally comes out of the bathroom, her hair still wet from her shower, "Hey." she says, smiling.

"Ally, you have to stop talking to me." Austin says.

"What?" Ally asks.

"It's your dad, he's-"

But Austin gets cut off and disappears when there is a knock on Ally's door, "Ally, honey, can I come in?" 

"Yeah." Ally calls to her dad.

Lester walks in and shuts the door behind him. He and Ally both sit on Ally's bed and face each other, "What's going on?" Ally asks.

"We need to talk." Lester says.

**Oooh! What's gonna happen next?! What does Lester have to 'talk' to Ally about? Where does he want Ally to 'stay'? All of these and more will be answered in the next chapter!**

**As always, REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVORITE!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey you guys! How is everyone doing? I finished my school work early, so you know what that means. I get to update! Yay! So, last chapter I left you guys off at a bit of a cliff hanger, didn't I? Don't worry, there's gonna be plenty more where that came from. And lots more drama and surprises too! **

**Who's excited for the new A&A episode?! I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure that episode is 'Princesses and Prizes', which I know the plot for, so...You know where to find me.**

**If you want to find me on other social media websites such as instagram, tumblr, etc. feel free to PM me, or even ask in your reviews! If you're reviewing as a guest, I'll reply to you in my next chapter :)**

**Okay, I own no references used. Let's go!**

* * *

"We need to talk." Lester says.

"Okay. What's going on?" Ally asks.

Lester pauses, "I don't want you to think that I'm eavesdropping on you, because I'm not, but...I've heard some of the um...conversations, you've been having."

"What conversations?" Ally asks.

Lester pauses again, "Ally...You know that Austin is dead, right?"

"Dad, of course I do." Ally says like it's obvious.

"Then why have I heard you saying his name when no one else is in the room?" Lester asks.

Ally doesn't respond right away.

"Ally-"

"Look, dad, you don't understand."

"Ally-"

"He's reaching out to me, dad. Me and me only, and that makes me feel special, and you can't take that away from me."

"You're going to go away for a little while."

Ally blinks, "What?" she asks.

Suddenly, a young woman walks in, "Hi, Ally, I'm Erica, I'm going to be helping you from now on." she says with a kind voice.

"Erica works at the Perry House for Girls." Lester explains.

"The Perry House for Girls? The _mental institution_?! But dad, I'm not crazy!"

"I know that, Ally, but you need some help. Let them help you." Lester says.

Ally starts to tear up, "You know what? Fine. If you don't believe that Austin is here with me, I'll prove it. I don't know how, but I will." Ally confirms. She stands and faces Erica, "Should I pack my things?"

"Everything you need will be provided for you when we get there." Erica explains.

Ally pauses, "You're gonna take some things away from me. Things that could hurt me." she says.

Erica nods, "Yes."

Ally starts tearing up again, "Please don't take my ring," she says, "You can take my necklaces and my earrings and my shoes but please don't take my ring. Austin gave it to me."

"_That's _why that ring looked so familiar! But I thought it was buried with Austin." Lester says.

"It was." Ally says. She takes her phone out of her pocket and hands it to Erica, "Let's go." Lester looks very confused.

* * *

Ally sat up in her bed. The light that shone through the small window in her room told her that it was day. Ally looked down at the gown she was wearing. White. Every single day she would have to wear the same white clothes. At least in hospitals, the gowns had those cute little blue dots on them. Here, there was just white. And not just white clothing. White walls, white floors, white furniture, everything was white. That's why Ally would like to walk around the garden some. There was color there.

She looked over and saw Austin, sitting in the chair in the corner like he always did when she woke, "Morning." she says to him.

"Hey." he says, smiling. He stands and walks over to the bed that Ally was sitting on and sits next to her. Austin was always wearing a different outfit when he came to see her. She liked it. Color.

Austin leans in and presses an innocent, chaste kiss on Ally's lips. She smiled up at him when they came apart. He, however, was frowning, "I can't believe they've got you all cooped up in here. It just isn't right." he says.

"I know. It's strange being here, knowing that nothing is wrong with me, but at least these walls are practically sound proof, and we can just be...alone."

"I know that, but they think you're hopeless. I knew coming to visit you wasn't a good idea from the start." he says.

Ally pauses, "Do...Do you regret coming to see me?" she asks.

Austin sighs, "Yes, but not for the reason you think." he says, 'You were supposed to move on. To get married and have kids, but instead you're here." he says.

"Austin," Ally says, holding up her left hand, "Look at this, looked at the ring you gave me." she says.

"I still can't believe they let you keep that." Austin says.

"I wear this ring day and night to show how much I love you. I like it here...A bit of color wouldn't kill anyone, but I still like it. I like this. Please, don't regret anything." she pleads.

Austin starts pacing around the room, "Ally, there's something you should know." he says.

"What?" Ally asks.

Austin pauses, "I was watching you." he says.

Ally is confused as to what he's talking about, "What?" she asks.

"When they brought you here three days ago, and they gave you those clothes to wear, I was watching you," Austin says, "and I saw the scars."

Ally's heart drops to her stomach.

"To be honest, I think the doctors should be more worried about that than you talking to a ghost. Except they left you alone when they gave you the clothes, so they didn't see you change, and they didn't see the scars. So they don't know that you have them."

"Austin-"

"Ally, why would you do that to yourself? After I told you not to?!" Austin exclaims.

"I'm sorry." Ally chokes out.

Austin's face softens. He sits on the edge of the bed and Ally jumps, "Baby, I'm not trying to scare you. I'm just frustrated. Why, Ally, why would you do something like that? Permanently damaging your body was not and never will be the answer to any of your problems."

"I stopped when you gave me the ring." Ally says.

"What?"

"I stopped cutting when you gave me the ring." Ally says, "The whole reason why I started in the first place was because I was never really sure if you were real. So...Feeling real pain, and feeling real nausea at the sight of real blood, it let me know that I was still in the real world, and that so were you...but then...you gave me the ring, and _that _was what let me know that you were here. I didn't have the need to cut anymore."

Austin pauses, then stands, "I'll be right back." he says. And then he disappears. Ally is confused for a moment, but she sits back, waiting for Austin to return. A minute later, he does just that, with something in his hand.

"What's that?" Ally asks.

"Peroxide." Austin says.

"Where did you-"

"Ally, this place is a hospital. It wasn't that hard to find." Austin says, "You're not gonna like this, but I need you to let me put this on your cuts so they don't get infected."

Ally sighs then nods. Austin gets on his knees and Ally lifts her shirt up. She would have taken it off completely, but she didn't have a bra on underneath, and she wasn't quite sure if she was ready for that just yet.

"This might sting a bit." Austin says before beginning to dab her scarred skin with the peroxide.

"So, I was thinking," Ally says, "the only way that you and I can...you know, be together, is here. So everyone here is going to have to think that I'm insane...We could have a lot of fun with that, you know."

Austin chuckles, "Yeah, I guess we could." he says, "Now your arms."

Ally puts her shirt down and rolls up her sleeves, "But what I was wondering was...How is this going to work, Austin?"

"What do you mean?" Austin asks, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. He starts dabbing the peroxide on the cuts on Ally's upper arms.

"Well...You died at seventeen; you're not going to age anymore...but I am...What are we going to do when I start aging more?"

Austin sighs, "If in the event...you decide that it's better you be with someone else when that time comes, then I'll be okay with that...But I say, we cross that bridge when we get to it." Austin says.

Ally just nods. Austin was about to ask permission to see the scars on her legs, when he perked up, "Someone's coming." he says, "I better put this back." he says. And with that, he disappears.

Just then, Erica walks in, "Hi, Ally." she says.

"Hi." Ally says.

"It's a sunny day; would you like to go get some breakfast and then we can go walk around the garden?" Erica asks.

Ally smiles, "I'd love that." she says.

Erica smiles back, "Great." she says.

* * *

"So, Ally, I'd love to learn more about Austin. I was a big fan of his, and I still am." Erica says as they walk through the gardens.

"He was just like he's portrayed to be. Even though he got famous, he never acted like it. He was always the same silly boy that came into my store one day." Ally says.

"You say that Austin can still talk to you even though he's dead. Why doesn't he talk to anyone else."

"I'm not even sure _he _knows the answer to that question. All I know is that it has something to do with the balances of nature, and he had to _choose _one person that he could communicate with. That person just so happened to be me."

"And why did he pick you? Why not one of his other friends, or his parents?"

"I don't know. He said it was a really hard decision to make though." Ally says. She turns to the side, "What's that?" she asks.

"Is Austin here?" Erica asks.

Ally turns back to her, "Oh. Yeah, he is; he always is. He asked me to thank you for taking care of me." Ally says.

"Oh. Well, you're very welcome, Austin. Ally is being very kind." Erica says.

Ally turns back to face 'Austin', "Uh huh. Okay, I'll tell her." Ally says, turning back to Erica, "He also says that he's sorry you're daughter never got to see him in concert. You guys had tickets, and little Ashley really wanted to see him."

"H-how do you know about that?" Erica asks.

"Austin asked around the afterlife." Ally asks.

"The afterlife, what's that?" Erica asks, getting back into work-mode again.

"It's kinda like heaven I guess. People go there when they die, but they either go to the good afterlife, or the bad after life, and if you go to the bad afterlife, you can't return to earth. Austin was put in the good afterlife, as he was a good person when he was alive. He has some spirit friends up there I guess." Ally says.

"Interesting." Erica says, "So that ring. Austin gave it to you?"

"Mmm hmm."

"When?"

"A couple weeks ago." Ally says, "It was Austin's grandmothers, but she died when he was fifteen. Austin's dad then gave it to him and told him to give it to a girl he fell in love with. The ring was then buried with Austin when he died, but he was able to give it to me a couple weeks ago. It was his way of proving to me that I'm not crazy for seeing him, and that I'm not just seeing a figure of my imagination. This ring lets me know that he's real, and that he cares about me."

"I'm sure he does." Erica says, in all seriousness, "So, does this mean that you and Austin aren't just friends?"

Ally giggles, "Well, the day before New Years we kissed under mistletoe that I still had up, and then the night that he was killed-which was on New Years-we kissed at midnight. We'd dated before that too, but then broke up and were just friends again. And then we always kind of had that flirty-friend relationship, and then right after he was shot and before he was killed he told me he loved me, and now he tells me that everyday."

"So you're in love." Erica states.

"Absolutely." Ally says. She sighs, "Look, I know where I am. I'm at a mental institution because no one really believes that I can talk to Austin. You're just saying all of these things because it's part of your job."

"Ally-"

"Please, let me finish." Ally says, "What if I told you that I could prove to you that I'm not crazy? That I really can talk to Austin?" Ally asks.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, by the laws that Austin lives by, he can't show himself to you because it would mess with the balance of nature...but...Austin, move my hair." Ally says.

A couple strands of Ally's hair moves.

"Sweetheart, that was just a breeze." Erica says.

Ally locks her jaw, "Alright." she says, "Austin, move my hair _up_." she says. Austin didn't pull her hair, but he lightly grabbed a few strands of her hair, and from Erica's point of view, those strands of hair were suddenly sticking straight up.

"Oh my God." she says.

"That'll do, Austin." Ally says. Her hair falls back into place.

"I'm sorry, Ally, but I'm afraid it's time for you to go back into your room now."

"What? Why? I just proved to you that Austin is real, that I'm not insane." Ally says.

"Sweetheart, I don't know what kind of demons are running around inside you're head, but we're going to get them out, I promise." Erica says.

"What are you-"

But before Ally could even finish her sentence, Erica was taking her back to her room.

**So as you can see, Ally is trying to prove to everyone that Austin is real, and so far it's kind of working, and kind of not working. And so, I NEED YOUR OPINION. Whatever you guys decide, I can absolutely write with, so no worries. But what I want to know is...Should spirits be able to pro-create? Or in other words, reproduce? If so, I can write with that. If not, I can write with that, but I want YOU GUYS to decide which route this story is going to go in, so let me know.**

**If you want to find me on other social media sites, PM me!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVORITE!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! How is everyone doing today? IMPORTANT! So, I'll put this at the ending disclaimer as well, but everyone needs to check out this amazing auslly story! It's called 'Blindsided' by weesh. It is an excellent story, and the author isn't getting the reviews they deserve. So go read that story once you're done here and leave that author some nice reviews!**

**So, the last chapter was...interesting; but the drama has only begun, my friends. I've taken your ideas in your reviews into consideration, and I can honestly say that I'm very pleased. A lot of you have been saying that if ghosts were able to reproduce, it would be illogical. Well, just remember, Edward Cullen was dead too, but Bella still had a baby. Remember that.**

**Anyway.**

**I own no references used. Let's go!**

* * *

Ever since the incident with Erica, the doctors had told Ally's family and friends that her 'condition' had 'worsened', and that she would no longer be allowed to have visitors unless it was by her parents, and the visits had to be supervised. Ally was even moved into a different room, in a different wing of the institution. Now, she was considered 'dangerous', and had to be in an isolated room. She would still be allowed to do recreational activities and go outside, but she had to be supervised by Erica and at least one other person at all times when doing so.

Whenever Ally was alone in her room, Austin would come in and mend her cuts. They were certainly getting better, so that was good. Whenever the doctors tried to give Ally medication, she would pretend to take it, but in reality, Austin took it away at the last second, so that she was never really taking it. Ally was in an insane asylum even though she wasn't crazy, and the medication could hurt her, so she never took it. Austin and Ally liked being alone in Ally's room. They got to just...be. They mostly just snuggled and talked and kissed. They had to be careful whenever things got...heated, because someone could walk in on them at any moment.

Speaking of which.

They were currently laying on Ally's bed, Austin on top of her. Ally's fingers tangled themselves into Austin's hair, and his hands traced up and down her hips. Their tongues explored each other's mouths, and their lips were even starting to hurt, but it didn't faze them. Austin's hands slowly went under Ally's shirt. Her scars were no longer chipping; they were now just smooth pink lines, but Austin could still feel them. Austin lifted Ally's shirt up so that it was just below her breasts. He began kissing along her stomach, along all of her scars. He was just above the waist band of her pants when he suddenly perked up.

"Someone's coming." he says.

Ally sits up, "We'll finish this tonight." she says.

"Are you sure?" Austin asks.

Ally smiles, "Absolutely." she says, readjusting her shirt.

Erica suddenly walks in, "Hi, Ally." she says.

"Hi." Ally says.

"We're going to go to the rec hall; you've got a visitor."

Ally was suddenly excited, "Really? Who?" she asks.

"Your dad." Erica says, smiling, "Now come on, we don't want to keep him waiting."

Ally smiles and stands. She walks over, but Erica stops her.

"How did you bruise your neck?" she asks.

"What? Oh, don't worry, it's just hickies." Ally says, nonchalantly, "Can you put my hair up? I really don't need to visit my dad for the first time in months with make-out hair." Ally laughs.

Erica looks heavily disturbed, "Sure." she says. She quickly puts Ally's hair in a bun, and they walk out of the room.

* * *

"Dad!" Ally exclaims.

"Ally!" Lester says, walking over to her and hugging her.

"I missed you."

"Oh, I've missed you too, sweetheart." Lester says.

Erica sat nearby, watching just in case anything happened. Lester and Ally sat down on the couches nearby, "Why haven't you come see me before? I feel like it's been so long." Ally says.

"Well, there's a couple of reasons. The store has been really busy, the media will NOT leave me alone, and...I've been trying to figure out a way to tell you this..."

Ally raises her eyebrows, "Tell me what?" she asks.

Lester pauses, "Ally, I don't know how you got that ring, but it belonged to Austin; it belonged to Mike and Mimi, actually. Ally, I need you to give it to me so that I can give it back to them."

"What? No! You can't do that. Austin gave this to me."

"No, he didn't sweetheart."

"Yes he did." Ally says.

"Ally," Austin says, "Just give it to him. I've got this."

"Are you sure?" Ally asks Austin.

"Who are you talking to?" Lester asks.

"Yes, I'm sure. Just give it to him." Austin says.

Ally pauses...Then she takes off the ring and hands it to her dad. Lester holds up the ring with his index finger and thumb, "Thank yo-" but the ring is suddenly taken away from Lester, and for a moment, it's just sort of...floating there.

"Here." Austin says.

Ally lifts up her left hand and the ring is put back in it's rightful place, "Thank you, Austin." Ally says, never breaking eye contact with Lester.

Lester's eyes widen and he turns back to Erica, "Did you just see-"

"Yes, yes I did." Erica says, walking over. She takes Ally by the arm and yanks her up, "Let's go back to your room."

"No! Ow! You're hurting me!" Ally exclaims.

Austin pulls Ally away, leaving Erica stunned.

"This is so much fun!" Ally whispers to Austin. He chuckles.

One of the other nurses slowly walks toward Ally with a needle in her hand. Ally was very afraid of needles, and Austin knew this, "Austin, she has a needle." Ally says. By Austin's laws, he wasn't allowed to touch other people, but no one ever said anything about inanimate objects that people were holding. So Austin smacked the needle out of the nurse's hand, leaving her stunned as well.

"Austin and I will walk back to my room. No groping, no sedatives. I will walk there calmly." Ally says.

Erica pauses, then slowly nods.

Ally smiles, "Bye, dad. It was great to see you again." she says.

* * *

Ally walks back into her room and sits on her bed, calmly.

Erica walks in as well, "Ally, would you like some lunch? It's almost noon." she says.

The institution had top-notch food. It was one of the only things Ally liked about this place anymore. Anything you wanted, they would get you, "I'm not too hungry, but...Could I get some pickles?" she asks.

"Of course. Do you want anything else?" Erica asks.

Ally pauses, then looks over at Austin and smiles, "Bring in a plate of pancakes too."

Erica raised an eyebrow. Pickles and pancakes? Well, some of the patients here had ordered stranger things she supposed, "Coming right up." she says, before leaving the room.

"You didn't have to do that." Austin says.

"Yes, I did. You haven't had pancakes in months, I bet you're dying to have them." Ally says.

Austin raises an eyebrow.

"Sorry, bad choice of words." Ally says.

* * *

Ally sets the dishes down on the table next to her bed, "You know, Erica is going to be coming back in here any minute," she starts, "Wanna do something that'll really freak her out?"

"Since when are you so evil?" Austin asks, jokingly.

"Hey, freaking people out, and talking to you are the only entertainment I have now." Ally says.

"Alright, what do you want to do?" Austin asks.

"Can you run to my place really quick? Go to my room, grab my song book and my favorite red scarf." Ally says.

Austin smiles, "Alright. Be right back." he says. And with that, he disappears.

Erica then walks in, "Hi, Ally. Are you all done?"

"Yes, thank you." Ally says.

Erica grabs the dishes, "I thought you said you weren't that hungry." she says.

"I wasn't. I ate the pickles, and Austin ate the pancakes." Ally says.

Erica blinks, "Oh." she says, "Is Austin here right now?" she asks.

"No. He's at my house, getting some things for me, if that's okay. It can get pretty boring here since I'm practically in solitary confinement." Ally says.

"Um...Alright...What is he bringing you?" Erica asks.

"My song book and my favorite red scarf." Ally says, "Do me a favor and look at that chair." Ally says, pointing to the chair in the corner of her room.

Erica looks at the chair. There was nothing there. She turns back to Ally, "What about it?"

"Look at it again." Ally says.

Erica looks back at the chair. There, was Ally's songbook and red scarf.

"How did you..."

"I already told you. Austin brought it." Ally says.

Erica looks like she could burst into tears in fear at any moment.

"You still don't believe me, do you?" Ally asks.

Erica sighs, "Sweetheart, I'm sorry, but no, I don't."

"Then who brought those?" Ally asks, "Still think it was a demon?"

Erica doesn't respond.

"Erica, if it's all the same to you, I'd like you to leave Austin and I alone for the rest of the night. We have plans." Ally says.

Erica raises an eyebrow, "Plans?" she asks.

"Yes, plans. In other words, I would just like my privacy with him, if that would be alright." Ally says.

Erica pauses, "Alright." she says, "I'll see you in the morning, bright and early." she says.

Ally nods. Erica walks out of the room. Austin could hear her heart pounding out of fear.

Ally smiles, "Thanks for bringing me those things."

"Welcome." Austin says. The sun was setting, and the room was getting darker. Austin sits on the edge of Ally's bed and takes her hands. Ally smiles, then scootches next to him. Austin leans in and slowly kisses her lips. Ally smiles into the kiss and squeezes Austin's hands. Austin breaks the kiss and gently presses his forehead to hers, "Are you sure?" he asks.

Ally smiles and nods, "Yes." she says.

Austin nods. He leans in and kisses her again. Never in his entire existence had something felt so right, and so terribly wrong at the same time. He wanted Ally more than anything else in this world, but that little voice in his head kept telling him that this was a bad idea. Austin had originally hoped that that little voice would have died with him on New Years', but he supposed he would just have to ignore it. He could hear Ally's heart-rate accelerating. She wrapped her arms around his neck and crawled onto his lap. Austin's hands traced up and down her sides and her behind. The little voice in his head kept telling him not to, that he should save her innocence for someone who was...human. The other voice in his head, however told him that this was alright. He loved Ally with all of his being, and he deserved to be able to show her.

Austin gently pushed Ally forward onto the bed, and then, thankfully, all other thoughts were lost.

* * *

"How is that possible?" The enraged Lester asks.

"Mr. Dawson, I don't know. One minute, there was nothing there. Next thing I know, there's a red scarf and a songbook there." Erica says.

"And how do you explain that ring thing? It was floating! Floating!" Lester says.

"Mr. Dawson, I know, I was there." Erica says, "Look, we will do all we can, but...we're not sure what all we will be able to do for your daughter...I'm sorry."

Lester sighs, "No..._I'm _sorry." he says. And with that, he walks out of the mental institution. He himself was going a little crazy at the thought of his daughter in a mental institution-one of the best in Florida, mind you-that couldn't help her with her 'issues'. Damn, imagine what he'd do if he knew that his daughter was having sex in the next wing. The man would burst into flames...

* * *

Austin watched Ally as she slept, hours later. She'd only just fallen asleep. She lay stomach down, the covers only going to her waist, exposing her bare back. Her heart beat was still pretty fast, but it was slowing down, as she was tired, more so than usual. Austin wished this room had had better air conditioning as he watches a small bead of sweat roll across Ally's forehead. She'd cool off soon though, and the sweat didn't seem to bother her. After all, she was passed out.

And as Austin watched her, the little voices in his head reappeared, telling him he just made a huge mistake.

* * *

**So...what did you guys think?! It was a bit on the short side, as length goes for chapters, but I'm still extremely proud of it.**

**If you want to find me on other social media websites, feel free to PM me and I'll tell you where you can find me!**

**IMPORTANT! I mentioned this in the beginning disclaimer, but I want everyone to go read the auslly story 'Blindsided' by weesh. It's an exceptional story, and it isn't getting the reviews it deserves. I reviewed the story yesterday, telling the author that I would give the story a shout out since I have lots of readers. So everyone, go look up that story and leave some nice reviews!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everybody! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever, I've just been really busy. With school, and auditions, etc. But I'm here now, aren't I? And I left you guys off at a pretty big cliff hanger. Things are about to get CRAZY! So I hope you guys will enjoy it.**

**Okay, let's get right to it. I own no references used. Let's go!**

* * *

"Ally," Austin whispers, "babe, wake up. Erica is gonna be here any minute and you need to be dressed."

Ally lets out a small hum, then sits up, "Oh, fine." she says. She crawls out of bed, finds her clothes and begins re-dressing herself.

"How are you?" Austin asks, sort of awkwardly.

Ally laughs, "I don't regret anything, if that's what you're asking." she says, putting her shirt back on and sitting back on the bed.

Austin wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her neck, "How do you feel?" he asks.

"I guess I'm a little sore, but I've never been happier." Ally says. She turns her head and Austin lightly pecks her lips.

"Erica's coming." he whispers before disappearing.

Erica then walks in, "Hello, Ally." she says, "And how are you this morning?"

"Great." Ally says, smiling.

"You certainly seem like you're in a good mood."

"Why shouldn't I be?" Ally asks, "It's a beautiful morning, I've got a roof over my head, food on my plate, wonderful people trying to help me get through some hard times, an amazing boyfriend; life is pretty much excellent."

"Well, I'm glad you feel that way." Erica says, "Would you like to go down to the mess hall for breakfast?"

"Seriously?" Ally asks, standing up, "You haven't let me anywhere near any of the other patients since I was put in here." she says.

"Well, we like to try new things here." Erica says.

Ally smiles, "Okay, let's go then." she says.

* * *

"Oh my God..." Ally mumbles. It was two weeks later, and she was laying on her bed, feeling miserable.

"Still not feeling well?" Austin asks, coming over to her.

"What the hell do you think?" Ally says, "Ever since they started letting me eat in the mess hall again I've felt like crap." Ally says.

"Well, it can't be the food. No one else in the hospital seems to be affected by it." Austin says, sitting on the edge of her bed.

Ally thinks for a moment, "Do you think they're putting medication in my food?" she asks, "Because normally, I don't take my medication and I just have you throw it out. If I'm taking it in my food without knowing it, there could be some side affects."

Austin sighs, "I don't know. Maybe." he says, "If you can just survive one more meal, I can scope out the kitchen and see."

Ally nods.

Just then, Erica walks in, "Ally, are you ready for dinner?" she asks.

Ally nods and sits up.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Erica asks.

Ally shakes her head, "No, I haven't felt good all day." she says, "Does my medication have side-affects?"

"I suppose it could. Why?" Erica asks as they walk out.

"Because that's the only thing I can think of that would make me feel like this. I mean, I suppose it could be food poisoning, but none of the other patients have had symptoms of that, have they?"

"No, they haven't. At least, not that I know of. I suppose I could ask around." Erica says.

Ally nods.

"When did you start feeling this way?" Erica asks.

"It hasn't gotten this bad until today." Ally says.

Erica nods, "We'll look into it, okay?"

Ally nods.

* * *

A week later, Ally was moved into the infirmary. She'd started vomiting, and claimed to have horrible cramps, like the kind you'd get before your period, only ten times worse. It got to the point where she'd start yelling in pain. The pain relievers were her saving grace, but she almost had to take them constantly. The doctors weren't quite sure what to do about the vomiting though. Ally would throw up her last meal at least once a day. Eventually, they stopped giving her solid foods and started giving her 'smoothies'. That helped somewhat, but she would still vomit once in a while.

"Ally," Erica says, walking in, "you have a visitor."

Ally suddenly perked up. She sat up a bit more, and then saw her mother coming towards her, "Mom!" she exclaimed.

"Hi, Ally-cat." Penny says, hugging her daughter, "How are you? Are they being good to you here?"

"Yes, Mom, I'm fine." Ally assures her.

"Are you sure? Don't you ever get lonely in that room all by yourself?"

"Well, ever since I was moved here, I haven't been alone very often. But even before that, I never was. I had Austin with me." Ally says.

Penny then realized that everything she'd heard about her daughter was true, "Oh." she says, "Well...that's good." she says, "So, you've been sick?"

"Yeah. I don't know what it is. I've been vomiting a lot, and I get these terrible cramps. The doctors can't seem to figure out what's wrong with me..."

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm sure it's just some form of the flu."

"I don't know, mom. It's just like-Ah!" Ally exclaims.

"What?" Penny asks.

"Ah! It's happening again." Ally says, clutching her abdomen. She takes a few sharp breaths, and they get slower with each one. Eventually, she relaxes, and is okay again, "They just sort of...Come and go." Ally says, "It's awful."

"Ally, I promise, you'll get over this and you'll be back on your feet and back home in no time." Penny says.

"I don't think so, Mom."

"What do you mean?"

"Yes, Mom, I'm sick. I may get over it, but the only way I get to come home is if I admit that Austin is just a figure of my imagination, when that's not the case. Austin is real. I'm not going to lie about that anymore."

For a minute, Penny just stares at Ally, but then regains her composure, "I see." she says, "Well, I'm late for work. Get better soon, sweetie." Penny says, kissing her daughter's forehead.

"Thanks, Mom." Ally says.

Penny nods, then walks off.

Erica walks in with a glass of water and some pills, "How're you feeling?"

"Same." Ally says.

"My goodness sweetheart." Erica says. She laughs, "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were pregnant."

"What? That's ridiculous. This place is a house for _girls_. The only men I've seen here are my dad and Austin." Ally says.

"Exactly. Don't you worry, sweetheart; we'll have you better soon." Erica says, "Now, just take these," Erica says, setting the pills and water on the tray next to Ally's bed, "and it should help with that pain you keep feeling."

Ally nods. She puts the pills in her mouth and takes a sip of her water. Erica nods, and walks away.

Ally then spits the pills and water out in the cup.

"What are you doing?" Austin asks. Sure, Ally didn't take her 'crazy pills' but she would normally take the pain killers.

"Austin," Ally starts, "can spirits reproduce?"

Austin blinks, "What?"

"Can spirits reproduce, Austin?" Ally asks, "Because if so I can't take that medication." she says.

"_That's _your main concern?!" Austin asks, "Look, I don't know if spirits can reproduce." he says.

"Well...C-can't you...you know, find out?"

"It could take a while."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'd have to ask around. That could take days, even weeks." Austin says.

"Well, please! Could you just go?! I need to know if that's what's wrong with me!" Ally says.

"Ally, you can't seriously be thinking-"

"I don't know what to think anymore, Austin!" Ally says, "Please, can you just find out?" she asks.

Austin sighs and runs a hand through his hair, "Yeah, I'll go." he says.

Ally nods, "Thank you." she says.

Austin nods. He leans down and gives Ally a sweet kiss on the lips, "I love you."

"I love you too." she says.

Austin straightened, and then was gone. Ally lay back on her bed, wondering how any of this could possibly get worse. Little did she know, Erica had seen that entire little conversation she and Austin had just had.

**So, BAM! What did you guys think of that? Yeah, it was a little bit short, but I still think it was good. I need you guys to give me some ideas because I've got a serious case of writers block. I'll even give you credit! Also, if you want to find me on any other forms of social media, such as instagram, twitter, etc. PM me!**

**And as always, REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVORITE!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey you guys! I know, it's been FOREVER since I've updated, but I've just been so busy. I've got a report on Marilyn Monroe that I have to do, I have to get ahead of my school work so that I can go to Warped Tour this summer, I've got lots of auditions to go to, I found out that an old friend of mine from school is pregnant, AND my mom came to visit me from Indiana with my sister this weekend, so I've been spending time with them all weekend. BUT they are at the airport right now, about to fly home, and I just got done with all of my school work, so I'm here now!**

**Shout out to elizx1116! She's decided that she loves my stories so much that she and her friends want to turn them into plays! Thank you so much you guys! I can't wait to hear about the finished product.**

**If you want to find me on other social media websites, such as instagram, twitter, etc. then PM me!**

**So, I left you guys at quite a cliff hanger last chapter, did I not? Well, I most likely will leave you at one in this chapter as well, ha ha ha ha ha!**

**Alright, I've kept you guys waiting long enough. I promise my updating will be a bit more frequent, haha. I own no references used.**

* * *

About a week later, Ally was removed from the infirmary and put back into her original room. During that week, Ally had zero contact with Austin. The doctors thought that this was Ally's way of letting Austin go, and that she was actually getting better. However, I think you and I both know that this wasn't the case.

Ally didn't tell Erica that she was pregnant, but she did tell her of some of her symptoms. For example, her period was late. Erica simply told her that it could be a side affect from the medication. Ally hadn't been taking her medication, but she couldn't tell Erica that, or she'd get in trouble. So, Ally simply did what she was told, and hid her pills under her mattress since Austin wasn't there to take them away. She always just sat in her room, waiting for him. Sometimes she'd write in her book. Sometimes Erica would ask to see her book, but Ally would always swat her hand away whenever she tried to touch it.

"Don't touch my book." Ally would tell her.

Ally hadn't really needed her book before Austin left. He was always the one she went to talk to when she needed to. Now that he wasn't here, the book was all that she had. However, it _was _only a week. Ally was sure he'd be back soon...

* * *

"I don't know, Austin. This has just never happened before." Malayah says.

"Oh, come on! You're telling me that a spirit has NEVER had sex with a living person?!"

"No! Usually spirits go back to visit a family member. If they visit someone they were in love with, they let them move on!"

"Don't you think I tried to get her to move on?! She wouldn't listen! And now she's in a damn mental institution, and she's getting worse and worse the more I'm not there!" Austin yells.

"Well what am I supposed to do?!"

"I don't know! I figured you'd know these things! You've been here for like, ever." Austin says.

Malayah sighs, "I've been here since 1764. I was discriminated against for my skin color, and I was burned at the stake because people thought I was a witch. I know that 1764 sounds like a long time for you, but there are people here that have been here for BILLIONS of years. I am NOT the one you should be asking about this."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Austin asks. He sat on the counter of Sonic Boom. He and Malayah had just been talking for over a week now, and hadn't left Sonic Boom.

"Go into the afterlife and ask around. That's your only option." Malayah says.

Austin sighs, "Yeah, I guess it is, isn't it?" he asks.

Malayah nods. The white light forms on the ceiling and stretches down to the floor. Austin, having never been to the afterlife, was sort of nervous, but this was for Ally. He sighed, then walked into the light and disappeared.

* * *

Ally's door opened and Erica walked in.

"Good morning, Ally." she says.

Ally was sitting on her bed, her knees curled to her chest and her arms around her bent legs. She set her chin on top of her knees, and simply looked up at Erica.

"We've got a surprise for you." Erica continues.

Ally wasn't necessarily excited, but she was intrigued and curious as to what this 'surprise' was. She lifted her head slightly, waiting for Erica to continue.

"Could you please put on your shoes? We're going to go to the rec room." Erica says.

Ally pauses, then straightens her bent form. It was then that her heart dropped to her stomach. How many days had it been since Austin left? Ally had stopped counting and 22, and that had to have been months ago. She was showing. Not much, not much at all, but she was. Only she knew about it. The shirt she was forced to wear daily luckily was baggy enough that Erica wouldn't notice for a few more months. However, Ally acted as though there was nothing wrong, and put on her shoes and stood.

"Could you bring your book?" Erica asks, "I promise, no one will touch it but you."

Ally hesitates, but nods. She hadn't been talking either. Talking had stopped about a week ago. She reached over to her night stand and grabbed her book, then held it close to her chest with both her hands.

Erica smiles, "Good." she says, "Now, come on."

Ally nods and slowly starts walking, her stringy and now frizzy hair was askew. Ally hadn't been eating much, either. If she was able to, she'd be slicing her skin again. She was, at the moment, pretty much all around discombobulated. Austin had been her saving grace at this awful place, and now it seemed as though he wasn't going to return. Maybe he left her. Maybe he didn't want to have to raise a child with her. Ally wouldn't blame him though. Why would he want to be with someone like her? Someone who was slowly becoming lacerated from the inside out? Someone who at the moment, felt nothing but depression and sadness, but would soon feel desolation and apathy.

They walked into the rec room. The windows, normally covered with light blue damask curtains, were unveiled and the sun came through. The furniture consisted of an ugly cream colored leather couch, and two leather recliners facing it, both the same cream color, with a brown rectangular coffee table in between. Beneath the table and couch and chairs was an ugly lime green rug, that was surprisingly soft if your feet were bare. The floors were brown hard wood that were the same color as the coffee table, and the walls were the same color blue as the curtains. In the back of the room, there was a 'bar' where you could get a drink or a snack if you needed to. There was also a restroom. Then, there was a ping pong table in the front of the room, a pinball machine in the front left corner, and two large book shelves off to the side, next to the bar. One shelf actually consisted of books, the other of board games. You could also do arts and crafts. There were some other patients here. Three were sitting on the couch, then one on each chair. They were playing a board game of some sort, their caretakers nearby. However, a couple of them weren't patients, but visitors here to _see_ patients. No one was at the pinball machine, but there were two people playing ping pong. There were a couple other people here and there.

However, there was something different about the rec room today. Something new. Normally, next to the two book shelves, there was just a big empty space. Now, there was a nice wooden piano in it's place, and a guitar leaning next to it. For the first time since Austin left, months ago, Ally actually smiled.

"Do you like it?" Erica asks.

Ally nods excitedly.

"Can you play us something?" Erica asks.

Ally pauses.

"Come on, you don't still have stage fright, do you?" Erica asks, playfully.

Ally shakes her head like a toddler in distress.

"Then why don't you play? Play us something in your book." Erica insists.

Ally is hesitant, but she nods. She walks over to the piano and sits on the bench, but doesn't face the piano. Instead, she grabs the guitar that was leaning against it. Ally sets her book down, as the song she was planning on playing was one she would be able to perform from memory, even though she'd never actually played it before. She took a few minutes to tune the guitar, then lined her fingers up and began to strum. She hadn't played in ages, but it was almost like she'd never stopped. Much to Erica's surprise, Ally actually began to sing. **(I don't own 'Everything Burns' by James Durban)**

_She sits in a corner_

_Singing herself to sleep..._

_Wrapped in all of her promises_

_That no one seems to keep..._

_She no longer cries to herself._

_No tears left to wash away..._

_Just diaries of empty pages_

_Feelings gone astray..._

_But she will sing_

_'Till everything burns_

_While everyone screams..._

_Burning their lies_

_Burning my dreams..._

_All of this hate_

_All of this pain..._

_I'll burn it all down_

_As my anger rains..._

_'Till everything burns_

_Walking through like unnoticed_

_Knowing that no one cares..._

_Too consumed in their masquerade_

_No one sees her there..._

_And still she sings_

_'Till everything burns_

_While everyone screams..._

_Burning their lies_

_Burning my dreams..._

_All of this hate_

_All of this pain..._

_I'll burn it all down_

_As my anger rains..._

_'Till everything burns_

_Everything burns_

_Everything burns_

_Everything burns..._

_Watching it all fade away..._

_Everything burns..._

_Watching it all fade away_

_'Till everything burns_

_While everyone screams..._

_Burning their lies_

_Burning my dreams..._

_All of this hate_

_All of this pain..._

_I'll burn it all down_

_As my anger rains..._

_'Till everything burns..._

Ally finished strumming, then looked up. Having listened to all of those lyrics, knowing that Ally had written them, Erica looked terrified. This was how Ally really felt. She wanted to burn. However, she wouldn't. She couldn't be selfish, especially when it's not just about her life anymore; she had another life to think about now.

A while later, Erica escorted Ally back to her room, as Ally no longer wanted to participate in any of the other activities. Erica even tried to get her to do some of the arts and crafts, but Ally refused. She wanted to be isolated. Isolation gave her time to think.

Ally kicked her shoes off, then sat back on her bed and got into the same curled position she was in when Erica came to get her. Erica sighed, then walked out and shut the door behind her.

Movement outside her small window made Ally look over. A tree outside the window was blowing rapidly in the wind. If Ally listened closely, she could _hear _the wind blowing outside. They were likely to get a storm. Ally smiled to herself. She liked storms. She kept listening to the wind, and watching the branch of the tree swing back and fourth rapidly, and a smile slowly, very slowly, grew on her face, her lips covering her teeth. Her eyes actually looked alive.

However, suddenly, it all stopped. The wind stopped. It was silent, and the branch of the tree outside, almost...almost looked...frozen in place. Suddenly, there was a flash and a 'woosh' sound in Ally's room, and there stood Austin. He had returned from the afterlife. The wind outside resumed, and the tree resumed swaying.

"Austin?!" Ally exclaimed, standing up, "What are you-"

"No time to explain. Sit." Austin says, walking over.

Ally obeys and sits on the edge of the bed with her feet hanging off. Austin looked like he was in a hurry, as everything he did was fast paced, and he didn't offer a proper explanation as to what exactly he was doing, but the thing is he wasn't rushed or hurried. He was panicked. He knelt down and got in between Ally's lefts.

"Austin, what are you-"

"Shh. I'm listening." Austin says, resting his head on her stomach.

"Listening for what?" Ally whispers.

Austin grips Ally's waist and presses his hear to her stomach, using his advanced sense of hearing. His eyes suddenly widen, "A heartbeat." he says. He looks up at Ally, "I hear a heartbeat."

**BAM! How's that for a comeback?! Sooooo, Austin heard a heartbeat. Who knows what that means? The next couple of chapters are going to be interesting, so I hope you guys are ready for it. I promise now that this whole crazy week is over, I will be updating more often.**

**If you want to find me on other forms of social media, such as twitter, instagram, etc. then PM me!**

**I HAVE A QUESTION! So, for those of you who read my story 'May', you know that I said I might do a sequel to that story, right? Who thinks I should? Because that might be my next idea for a story once I finish this one.**

**FOLLOW!**

**FAVORITE!**

**REVIEW!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! How are you all doing? I personally am doing great, thanks. I've had three auditions just this weekend, so hopefully we'll hear back from those soon. AND I'm listening to New Years Day AND I'm getting chocolate cake later. Life is pretty much fantastic.**

**So, I've gotten a lot of reviews lately telling me different suggestions or predictions for the story. All I'm going to tell you, is that at first, you may not like how I end it, but once you read it over, you'll understand it. Don't worry, there's still going to be a few chapters after this one though.**

**I left you guys at quite the cliffy, didn't I? Just wait.**

**Anyways. I own no references used. Let's go!**

* * *

Ally and Erica walked along the grounds, through the gardens. Ally always felt at peace here. The combined scents of the flowers around her always calmed her down. A cool breeze was blowing through the air, making the leaves on the trees flutter. Ally smiled to herself as she looked up at the clouds. A bunny on a bicycle. Her smile grew. She and Austin had talked, but she wanted to be alone with Erica for a while, which he could understand. She inhaled again. The air smelled...green...She picked a couple of peonies and smelled them. She then let them go, letting the wind take them where ever. The sun was shining bright, and it really was a beautiful day.

"Erica," Ally says, turning to face Erica as they continue walking, "Wonderful news."

Erica turns to face Ally as well, paying attention.

"Austin and I are going to have a baby." she says, acting like a the mental patient that she was made out to be.

"Oh, really." Erica says, playing along.

"Yes. See?" Ally asks, pulling her shirt back so that it was tight. She was slightly showing. It was hard to tell- you really had to look at her- but she certainly was.

Erica still wasn't quite buying it, "Alright." she says.

"Austin could hear the heartbeat, which means a machine won't be able to for another few weeks. But when the time comes, I'd like an ultrasound."

Erica then realized that Ally was serious, "Oh..." she says.

"What?" Ally asks.

Erica pauses, "Nothing." she says, before moving on.

* * *

"Mr. Dawson, she claims to be pregnant." Erica insists, "She told me herself."

"She's in denial because she wants Austin here! This is nonsense!" Lester exclaims.

"Look. What harm could an ultrasound do? She'll see that there is no baby inside of her, and move on." Erica says.

Lester pauses, "I suppose." he says.

"Mr. Dawson, we promised you that we'd help your daughter, and we plan on keeping that promise." Erica says.

Lester pauses again, pondering a decision, "Alright. Give her an ultrasound. Maybe that will snap her out of this whole Austin thing for good."

"That's our intent, sir." Erica says.

* * *

As the weeks went by, Ally certainly showed symptoms of pregnancy, but the doctors were convinced that she was doing it intentionally. She'd even been gaining weight, but the doctors simply thought she was eating more to make herself gain weight. However, Ally held her head up high. Nothing they said could convince her that she wasn't pregnant. She vowed to do whatever she could to protect her baby.

Finally, after a few weeks, the day of the ultrasound arrived. In the meantime, Austin had been monitoring the heartbeat of the baby. Ally wasn't showing much, not much at all, which is what led the doctors to think she was simply eating more to gain weight. But Erica came in and led Ally to a different part of the hospital. They'd already had ultrasound equipment for the gynecology department of the hospital. After all, it WAS a hospital for girls. Unfortunately, to Ally's discomfort, they'd have to to a trans-vaginal ultrasound. Austin simply stood behind her and held her hand.

"I'm so excited to see my baby for the first time. Austin says that the heartbeat is great; I can't wait to hear it." Ally says.

Erica simply nods, not even really paying attention to what Ally was saying. She speaks up, "You may feel a bit of discomfort." she says as she gets Ally 'set up'.

"Ohh, that's cold." Ally says.

Erica simply nods again, then goes over to the computer that Ally was 'attached' to. She started typing a few things. She kept looking back and fourth between Ally and the computer, as if waiting to see if Ally would stop her. But Ally looked at the computer, with a look of expectation on her face. She had her hand next to her head, open, as if she were holding something in it. What Erica couldn't see, was that that thing was Austin's hand. He kissed Ally's forehead and moved her hair slightly, which made Erica jump.

"I know you don't believe me." Ally says.

"What makes you think that?" Erica asks.

"I believe you when you tell me you want to help me, but I know that by 'help me', you mean rid me of Austin." Ally says, "I don't know what more I can do to make you believe me. Hopefully, this will help." Ally says.

Erica continues typing, not even looking at Ally as she speaks to her, "Ally, look, I-" but she gets cut off by something. Erica had activated the ultrasound so that they could be able to 'hear the baby's heartbeat'. But something unexpected happened...They could actually hear a heartbeat. Ally's face lit up.

"Is that it?!" she asks.

Erica went white, "What? B-But I don't understand, I..." she trails off.

"Is there anyway I can see the baby?" Ally asks.

"Um..." Erica says, obviously frazzled.

"Well is there?" Ally asks, acting like she didn't even see the problem.

Erica blinks a few times, trying to regain her composure and focus, "Um...Y-yes, yes there is. One moment, please." Erica says. She continues typing.

Ally looks up at Austin, who simply smiles.

"How do you feel?" Austin asks.

"Very uncomfortable." Ally says.

"What?" Erica asks.

"I wasn't talking to you." Ally says to Erica. She looks back over her shoulder at Austin, who was still behind her.

"Don't worry; you're going to be fine." Austin says, "_We'll _be fine." he says.

Ally nods.

"Here we are." Erica says, still shaking. She pressed a few more buttons, and the image appeared on the screen. At first, Erica had expected to see it empty, but now she didn't know what to expect.

But Ally did.

And she smiled.

The black and white image before her moved around, more so that she would have expected, but it also made her smile even more.

"Look, Austin," Ally says, "That's our baby."

Erica saw Ally's hand move...as if it were being squeezed. She almost screamed.

**BAM. So, crappy filler chapter, but how do you think Lester is going to react to all of this? And, what is going to happen to Ally BECAUSE of that reaction? **

**So. My stepmom has read a couple of my fanfictions and keeps telling me that I need to try writing a book. I've got microsoft word on the next tab, and I think I might take a crack at it. Wish me luck! I'll still be updating when I can, which will probably be once a week or so, just like it always has been.**

**Tell me what you think! Review! Follow! Favorite!**

**And if you want to find me on other forms of social media, instagram, twitter, etc., then PM me!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys! What's up? Sorry I haven't updated in forever, I've been sort of busy. There are only going to be a couple more chapters in this story, and then I'm thinking of starting on my sequel to 'May'. What do you guys think? I've already got a good ending planned for this story, so hopefully everything will turn out well.**

**Anyways, I own no references used. Let's go!**

* * *

Erica quickly escorted Ally back to her room, then left in a hurry.

"Well, that was weird." Ally says.

"Was it really?" Austin asks, appearing behind her, "I mean, you are pregnant with a dead guy's kid." he points out.

"I suppose. Hopefully now everyone will believe me though."

"I'm not sure about that. They'll probably blame this entire pregnancy on some guy."

"They can't. This is a house for girls, all of the employees are female, and the only man who has ever visited me here is my dad. And it's not like I could have slept with someone before I came here because I've been here almost five months." Ally says, "They've got no other choice _but _to believe me. Trust me, I'm sure of it."

Austin shrugs, "I guess you _were _always the smart one in this relationship." Austin says.

Ally smiles, "Of course I am." she says.

Austin smiles in return, "You think we're gonna be alright?" he asks.

Ally's smile falls, "In all honesty, I'm not sure." she says, "I hope that they'll let me go. A mental institution is no place for us to raise a child," she starts, "Unless...Austin, what if they make me give up the baby? Like, for adoption? Or even an abortion?"

"Ally, they can't do any of that unless you say it's okay, which you won't. Trust me, they'll figure something out."

* * *

"The evidence is right here, Mr. Dawson!" Erica says, shoving the ultrasound pictures in Lester's face.

"Give me those!" Lester says, snatching the pictures away and looking at them, "It's not possible..." he says at whisper level, "No. Someone did this to her."

"Mr. Dawson, you are the only male figure that has been anywhere near Ally since she got here. There's nothing on our security cameras that says otherwise, and Ally is almost always supervised. Any time she isn't, she's in her room."

"It just doesn't make sense!" Lester exclaims, "My daughter! Pregnant at seventeen!"

"I know you're upset Mr. Dawson, but there really is nothing we can do. Your daughter has made it quite clear that this is what she wants." Erica says.

Lester just shakes his head and continues pacing around the room, thinking. He then comes to a stop, "I don't care who's baby it is, or what Ally wants, just get it out of her."

"Mr. Dawson, I'm afraid we as doctors can't do anything of the sort without the mother's consent-"

"I don't care!" Lester exclaims. His face softens and he sighs, "Listen," he says, lowering his voice, "I'll pay you. Not just the hospital, but you personally, and whoever performs the operation. Ever since Austin died, my store has gained an immense amount of popularity since he was there all the time while he was alive. Money is no object."

Erica thinks for a moment, and looks around her. There were doctors and other patients all around them. She returns her attention to Lester, "Why don't we talk in the other room?" she asks.

* * *

"And Daddy and I love you very very much." Ally says.

Austin had his ear to Ally's stomach again, simply listening. He smiled and had tears in his eyes, as did Ally, "He or she likes your voice, Mommy." he says.

Ally smiles, "This is so crazy...H-how is this even possible?" She asks.

Austin sighs, "Honestly, I didn't pay enough attention in Health Class when I was alive to give you a good answer for that." he says.

Ally laughs, "No," she says, "I mean...you're dead." she says.

"Yeah, I know." Austin says, "Maybe it's because you're alive. Something in you must have just...triggered something." He says.

"I suppose that's the best explanation we can get at the moment." Ally says.

* * *

Ally was awakened quite early by Erica entering her room.

"Good morning, Ally!" Erica says, happily, "Oh, I'm sorry; did I wake you?"

"Yes, but it's alright." Ally says, sitting up and smiling.

"We've got quite a day planned for you!" Erica says.

"Really? How so?" Ally asks.

"Well, firstly, I'm going to let you get changed," Erica says, handing Ally a pair of clean clothes, "Then put your shoes on and we'll go. We've got a follow up doctor's appointment."

"A follow up? Why?" Ally asks.

"Well, I got a little spooked yesterday, finding out you were pregnant with Austin's baby," Erica starts, "But we realized that, with the situation you're in, there's no other explanation than for you to really be pregnant with Austin's baby. So, we're going to check you out again, just to make sure everything is running smoothly."

Ally blinks, "Okay..." she says.

"Great! I'll leave you to change and get ready, and I'll be back in five minutes." Erica says. And with that, she walks out.

"That was weird." Ally says, beginning to change. She didn't even care that Austin was there; he'd seen it all before.

"Well, maybe everyone is finally coming around." Austin says.

"I guess. I want to know how my dad handled it; I'm sure Erica told him."

"I would have payed to see the look on his face when she told him. It probably was priceless." Austin says.

Ally puts on the clean clothes and smiles, "Probably." she agrees. She sits on the bed and starts putting her shoes on, and Erica walks back in minutes later.

"Ready to go?" she asks.

"As I'll ever be." Ally says.

"Austin, wait!" Malayah says, suddenly in the room.

"Malayah? What are you doing here?" Austin asks. Ally looks at him, "I'll be there in a minute, babe." he says.

Ally shrugs, "Okay." she says, following Erica out the door.

"What is it?" Austin asks Malayah.

"You've got to get Ally away from Erica. It's a trap!"

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"I was listening to hers and Lester's conversation yesterday. Lester is going to pay the hospital and Erica personally to abort Ally's baby." Malayah says.

"But that's illegal. They can't do that unless Ally tells them to." Austin says.

"Well, they're doing it anyways. They say they're going to put Ally under and find a way to abort the baby while she's unconscious. You've got to stop them, now! Hurry!" Malayah says.

Austin nods, "Thanks, Malayah." he says, before disappearing.

* * *

"Alright, Ally, I want you to close your eyes and take a nice, deep breath for me." Erica says.

Ally does as told. She closes her eyes, and inhales, but then feels something being put on her face. A mask of some sort. She opens her eyes and starts screaming into the mask, which was filled with some sort of substance that made her feel...woozy. They took the mask off of her, and Ally could vaguely see and feel a needle being pressed into her inner elbow.

"ALLY! NO!" Austin exclaims, running into the room, "YOU'VE GOTTA FIGHT IT ALLY, FIGHT IT! STAY AWAKE!" Austin screams.

Nothing.

Everything went black before Ally even closed her eyes.

**So. What these doctors are doing is indeed very illegal, but people do stupid stuff for money all the time. This is no different.**

**I'm probably only going to have one or two more chapters before I start my sequel to 'May'. Wish me luck on both things!**

**And as always, REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVORITE!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay don't hate me. I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever, I've just been so busy. I'm home schooled and a lot of the time this week I've been doing school 'till late so afterwords I'm just tired. And yesterday I was filming for a yoga video, so I couldn't do it then either. But I'm here now, and that's all that matters, right?**

**I'm also pretty excited because I'm pretty sure I'm going to Warped Tour! Not positive, but my dad and I have been talking about it. XD**

**Also. I was being a little creep and stalking Ross' twitter page, and apparently he just goes around kissing girls at his concerts, haha. One of his tweets said "To the random girl in the crowd that I kissed-I hope you liked it!" and I totally flipped out when I read it, haha.**

**IMPORTANT! I just need to say this. Sadly, this will be the last chapter of 'The Ghost in The Mirror'. HOWEVER I will be starting my sequel to 'May', some time this week. ALSO, in THIS story, remember a few chapters ago, I mentioned that Ally wasn't taking her medication? Remember that.**

**Anyways, I left you guys at quite the cliff hanger last time, didn't I? Well, let's get right to it then. I own no references used. Let's go!**

* * *

When Ally first awoke, everything was...hazy. And she felt dizzy. Her white room became focused as she blinked a couple of times. The white ceiling tiles were the first thing she saw. She couldn't remember much of what happened, but she didn't have a very good feeling as to what it was. All she remembered was Erica taking her to do another ultrasound, and then it was like...a block in her memory. She simply couldn't remember. Had she been put under? Did something go wrong that they would have had to do that? And then, the thought that panicked Ally the most: was the baby alright?

_Paralyzed..._

_By my envy...of the night..._

Ally sat up. She hadn't heard Austin sing in a while, and actually allowed herself to smile when she heard his voice.

_I am lost without you here..._

It was the song that they had written. The lyrics that Ally had written to go along with the piano piece Austin had written. It seemed like another life time ago. For Austin, it _was_.

_And outside it looks like rain..._

His back was to her, and he didn't sound happy. Ally's smile faded. What was wrong? Something was definitely wrong.

_For the last time..._

_I bleed myself dry tonight_

Austin turned around to face Ally, tears running down his face. Ally wasn't aware that spirits could cry, though she supposed it didn't surprise her. Why was he crying? He started to pace back and fourth slowly as he continued to sing.

_And nothing I could ever write_

_Would help you understand this life_

_There's so much beauty_

_When your eyes lay lost_

_In all the city lights_

_The wax will drip as so as blood_

_Romance is dead and all is lust_

Austin walked over to Ally on her bed as he sang the last line.

_You are the water in my lungs..._

There was still more to the song, two more lines, actually. However, he stopped singing and sat on the edge of Ally's bed. He took her hands in his and looked her in the eyes, "We've lost it..." he states the next line, "We are all alone." he states the final line.

It takes Ally a minute. A few minutes, actually, to understand what he's talking about. However, eventually, she does. Her memories start to come back, and she comes to the realization of what's happened.

"No..." she trails off. "No, no. No!" she exclaims.

Austin takes her in his arms and she cries into his chest murmuring 'No' over and over again. Her sobs soon became uncontrollable. 'We've lost it...We are all alone.' She knew what that meant...The baby didn't make it.

"What happened?" She finally asks.

"Your dad payed Erica and the hospital to do an illegal abortion." Austin says.

Ally sits up and looks at him in shock, "No...No my dad wouldn't do that..."

"I'm sorry, but it's true." Austin says, "I'm so sorry..."

Ally just continued to cry. The love of her life and her baby had been taken away from her, and she didn't even get to see her baby. She didn't even get to know if it was a boy or a girl...She was so excited too. This baby would have been her chance to get out of this hospital, and she had always wanted children. This could have been the opportunity to get everything she'd ever wanted back.

Sadly, that's just not how things work.

"Ally," Austin says, "He's okay."

Ally pauses, then looks up at Austin, "He?" she asks.

Austin gives her a small, sad smile, "Yeah." he says.

Ally smiles, but then it falters. She'd come to the realization. Spirits that die get to _choose _what living person they wish to interact with, but they can ONLY interact with living people _if __they choose said person._ The baby would be too young to be able to choose to see Ally, and since he was just a baby and he's dead, he won't age. Which means he won't be able to grow and choose to see Ally then.

Ally would never get to see her baby.

"I can't see him, can I?" she asks.

Austin shakes his head, "No."

"Where is he?"

"He's alright. A friend of mine is watching him so I could come talk to you." Austin explains.

Ally just sits there for a moment.

"Ally?" Austin asks, waiting for her to say something.

"Can you...Can I just...Can I be alone for a while?" she asks, tears running down her face.

Austin sighs, then nods, understanding. He gives her one last kiss, and she lightly kisses him back, "I love you." He tells her.

Ally nods, "I love you too." She says in return.

Austin nods, then stands. In half-a-second, he's gone.

As if on cue, the door opens, and a nurse that Ally had never seen before walks in.

"Hi there, Ally. I'm Caroline." she says.

"Where's Erica?" Ally asks.

"Oh, you didn't hear? Erica doesn't work here anymore; she's been fired." Caroline says.

"Because of what she did to me?" Ally asks.

"I suppose that could be part of it." Caroline says, walking in, "How are you feeling?"

Ally's lips quivers, "Not so good." she says.

"Well, I'm sorry to bother you, but it's time to take your medication." Caroline explains, holding up two pills and a glass of water.

Ally suddenly smiled. Medication. She hadn't been taking her medication the entire time she was here! She'd just pretended to and then put the pills in one of the drawers in her nightstand. She suddenly got an idea, and was very thankful that Austin wasn't here.

"Okay." Ally says. Caroline walks over and gives her the pills and the water. Ally stares at the small objects a minute, then downs them and the water.

"Good." Caroline says, "I'll let you keep the water. I'll be back to check on you in half an hour, okay?" she asks.

Ally nods, "Thank you." she says.

Caroline nods, then walks out of Ally's room.

Ally quickly gets off the bed and kneels down in front of the nightstand. She sets the glass of water on it, then opens the drawer to reveal all of her un-swallowed pills. She smiled to herself, but knew she would have to be quick. Caroline had said she would be back in half an hour, and Austin could be back any minute. She took as many pills as she could and downed them. And more, and more. Pretty soon, the water glass was empty, and Ally was taking the remainder of her pills dry.

After all of them were gone, she felt very sick. However, this was expected. She slowly got onto her bed and curled up. Soon, it would all be over...it would all be over.

Her stomach was doing flips, and not in a good way. Ally curled her knees to her chest and got under the covers on her bed. She closed her eyes. Maybe she could just fall asleep, and...not wake up.

It didn't seem that long, and yet it seemed like forever, when the door finally opened. Ally didn't respond though. Was she dead? Is this what death was like?

Caroline gasped loudly and went over to Ally, "Ally! Ally wake up!" she exclaimed. Soon, the name was almost a chant, "Ally! Ally! Ally!"

But then suddenly...the name didn't sound like Ally. It was starting to morph into something different. Soon, a completely different name was being said.

"Austin! Austin! Austin!"

* * *

"Clear!" one of the paramedics said, putting the pads on the boys chest and sending electric volts through his body. He'd made it through the ambulance ride, and they'd managed to stitch his neck up, but they'd lost him almost as soon as they got to the emergency room.

"Come on, Austin!" One of the paramedics says.

Austin, who's eyes were already open to begin with, focused. He was back.

"Austin, can you follow this light?" Another paramedic asks, holding up a small flashlight above Austin's face and moving the light around. His eyes followed the light, and his pupils responded to it.

"Alright, we've got in." The paramedic says.

"Let's get him hooked up to an IV and a heart-monitor." Another one says.

"Ally..." Austin murmurs, barely audible.

"She's alright, Austin, don't worry." One of them says.

He was rolled into a room. He still wasn't quite sure what was going on...

But his eyes closed.

* * *

Austin opened his eyes. He looked around. He was in a hospital room. What about the mental institution? And Ally? And the baby? And Malayah? Was that all just a dream he was having while he was under? That must have been it. It must have been a vision of what life would be like back here if he really had died.

So...does that mean...He managed to look at the digital clock on the nightstand next to his bed. It read 4:33 a.m. Jan 1.

"You're awake." A familiar voice says, "You're okay."

Austin looks up and sees his brunette friend standing in the doorway, "Your parents just left." she explains, "They'll be back through. They're just getting some things from home."

Austin nods. He opens his mouth to speak.

"Don't talk! The doctors said your vocal chords are probably damaged." Ally says, walking into the room.

Austin's eyes widen and his hand touches his throat, feeling the area it was slit. He had stitches.

"But on the bright side, the doctors think they might be able to fix it." Ally says.

Austin's eyes widen even more and he smiles.

Ally smiles in return, then gets tears in her eyes, "Austin...Austin you saved my life tonight...I don't think I could ever thank you enough...I mean...look at you." she says, now crying, "Look at what you've gone through, just to protect me..." she says, "There has to be something I can do to repay you."

Austin starts to shake his head, then stops as he gets an idea. He smiles. He motions for Ally to move closer to him. Ally smiles and does as told. She gets on her knees next to the bed and moves closer to Austin. Austin turns to face her. His hand cups the side of her head as he moves her closer to him and kisses her. To be completely honest, Ally expected this and gladly returned the kiss.

When they come apart, they both smile, and Ally had tears in her eyes as she knew that he was going to be okay.

There was a mirror hanging on the wall, and both Austin and Ally could be seen in the reflection. But for a minute, Austin could have sworn there was a third person in the mirror. He gasped and looked at the mirror. It was just the two of them.

"What?" Ally asks.

Austin pauses, "Nothing." he whispers, "I just...thought I saw something."

And in the corner of the room, Malayah smiled.

**The End.**


	15. IMPORTANT EXPLANATION

**Hey guys, listen.**

**Okay so a couple of people have reviewed or messaged me personally because they were confused with the ending of the story, so I figured I'd put an explanation of it up and that that might make things a little bit easier to understand. I can see where some of you may have gotten confused.**

**The most asked question I have gotten is: Did Austin really die? YES. AUSTIN REALLY DID DIE. His throat was slit, and he died. BUT. He did NOT die in Sonic Boom, as previously thought. He died in the ambulance once they reached the ER. You know how they say when you die, your life flashes before your eyes? What happened to Austin was sort of like that. He was sort of in a dream. Now, as you know -or at least, SHOULD know -dreams have no sense of time. You could be asleep for twenty minutes but have a dream that takes place over days, right? So Austin was legally dead for only a couple minutes, but this entire thing he was seeing is what could have happened if he had STAYED dead, which, as you could see by the ending, he did not.**

**Now. The next question. Why did Austin have this 'dream' and how? The answer: Malayah. It was Malayah's job to keep Austin 'distracted' while he was dead. It was her job to show him how much he really needed Ally in his life, and most of all, how much SHE needed HIM, with something Austin could believe. Austin said that he believed in ghosts at the beginning of the story, so that was the scenario that Malayah used to make him understand, if that makes sense. Malayah is, I guess you could say, sort of like a guardian angel character.**

**Now. Since Malayah is the one that is responsible for making Austin see everything you've read, SHE is the one that made the story happen. So, at the very end when Austin sees Malayah in the corner of the room, it's supposed to be symbolic. MALAYAH is the reason Austin experienced what he did when he died. MALAYAH is the reason that Austin came back to life. MALAYAH is the one that showed Austin how much he needs Ally in his life, and how much he is in love with her.**

**MALAYAH _IS_ THE GHOST IN THE MIRROR! Does that make sense to everyone? Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.**

**ALSO! I will be starting the sequel to 'May', which will be called 'Madness', TONIGHT! So be on the look out for it!**


End file.
